SHRM Pre Test
The HR director and the CEO of a mid-sized company each receive an identical letter in the mail. The letter is from an anonymous disgruntled employee, and it accuses a company executive of several negative actions, including bullying, misrepresenting funds, and openly criticizing other executives during conversations with lower-level employees. The letter states that the employee has chosen to remain anonymous because the employee mistrusts the HR department and fears retaliation. Which action should the HR director take to best ensure that executives understand and comply with the company's expectations of leaders?
A is correct. Annual training is an effective, and sometimes mandated, way of sharing the roles and responsibilities that leaders have in encouraging reporting of issues and preventing workplace retaliation. This is often a first step in a broader approach to creating a culture of ethics and compliance in an organization. B is incorrect, as this is broader than focusing on compliance only. C is incorrect, as e-mail communication to all employees does not address the specific actions that need to be taken by the leadership team. D is incorrect, as an employee survey may not have surfaced the need for executives to comply with behavioral expectations. CORRECT A. Develop a yearly training series that emphasizes behavioral expectations for all employees, including executives
A global consulting firm hires a director of business development from outside the organization, much to the disappointment of one of the managers in the department, who also applied for the position. This manager complains bitterly about the decision to go outside of the firm, and he continues to exhibit disruptive and angry behavior. He feels that he has been unfairly treated, since he believes that he has more experience than the newly hired director. Two months later, the new director of business development has made changes that most of her team are quite excited about. Unfortunately, this does not include the disappointed manager. He openly criticizes the director's ideas, even escalating this criticism to the CEO. He comes to HR to discuss his options in the company. The new director has also come separately to HR regarding the continued hostility from this manager and also about a new employee on the global sales team, who tends to stay to herself and does not interact with the rest of the team. The new sales employee has no problems with attaining her sales goals, but the director does not see her as a "team player" and asks the HR manager for assistance with how best to deal with both of these situations. What should HR recommend as the best approach for the director to take in regard to the sales employee keeping to herself?
A is the best response, as this allows the director to establish rapport and build a relationship with the new employee in a natural way. B is incorrect. Since the activity is optional, there is no guarantee that the employee will participate. C is incorrect, as the director would not be encouraging open communication between the sales employee and the rest of the team, and this may result in a less effective sales team overall. D is incorrect, as this suggests that the new employee has done something wrong. This is not a way to build the foundation of effective relationships. CORRECT A. Spend time with the sales employee, interacting the same way she does with all the other team members.
The IT director of a research organization has created an innovative software application that enables researchers around the world to conduct research more efficiently. The application has been a great success; it has won several awards and has received recognition from industry leaders. Over time, the IT director has bragged about the success of the program, stating that no one else could have come up with this idea. Even though the organization's mission is to be a learning organization with a strong commitment to knowledge sharing, the IT director has refused to share knowledge of the application with anyone else in the organization for fear of losing power and control. The organization's leadership won't confront the IT director about this because there is no contingency plan if the IT director were to get upset and quit. While the IT team reports to the IT director, the IT director has no direct supervisor. Recently, the HR manager received a verbal complaint that the IT director openly yelled at the IT team during a meeting-intimidating staff and making them feel worthless. Upon examining the issue, the HR manager learns that the IT director constantly overworks employees and treats them in an intimidating manner. The HR manager discovers that the IT director has created a culture of being uncollaborative by explicitly telling the rest of the IT team not to share any of the department's secrets. Furthermore, the IT team has been told to lie about the status of certain projects by stating that work is being done when in fact it is not. Which strategy would help assess and correct the collaboration issues the IT department is facing?
A is the best response, as this strategy will address the issues around collaboration, interpersonal relationships, and the work expectations of employees. B is incorrect. Analyzing the use of resources and job descriptions does not address the interpersonal or structural issues. C is incorrect. Designing and developing a performance management plan for each employee does not address the collaboration issues for the whole department. D is incorrect. Although this type of forum would allow employees to share concerns, it most likely will not result in strategies to correct the interpersonal and structural issues. A. Evaluate work relationships between employees and departments, clarify work expectations and reporting relationships, and assess the gap in operating expectations.
The company president comes to the HR director and expresses considerable concern about customer complaints of poor service. Although the customer service manager has been with the company for five years, she is new to supervising and leading staff. The president has heard rumors that the department is in total chaos and asks the HR director to visit the manager and find out what is happening in the department. The HR director visits the customer service department and speaks with the manager. The manager confesses to being overwhelmed with the employee relations issues in the department and admits to being intimidated by the nepotism that exists within the company. Employees answer an average of two calls per hour, but the industry standard is six per hour. The manager welcomes any assistance the HR director can provide. The department is not fully staffed. There is a vacant position, and the job has been posted for two weeks. Other company employees do not want to apply because of the employee relations issues in the department. How should the HR director respond regarding the low number of calls per employee? Answers
A is the best response. The HR director needs to gather critical information to understand the root cause of the customer service problems. B is incorrect. The HR director does not know the root cause of the customer service problems, so hiring more representatives will not address the problem. C is incorrect. Prior to setting specific goals, the HR director needs to gather critical information in order to assess what the root cause is. D is incorrect. The HR director must take a more direct approach and set expectations by establishing a work standard for customer service representatives. CORRECT A. Listen to calls, analyze the nature of the calls, and estimate the time needed to resolve the issue during each call.
Noise is any condition that can prevent a message from being correctly understood by a receiver. Technical jargon and other unfamiliar terms can be a barrier (noise) to the listener's understanding. Disagreement is not noise, nor are factors that actually enhance understanding, such as shared context or respect. What would be an example of noise in the communication model?
A speaker uses technical abbreviations that the listener does not know.
HR activities that are not strategic but are resource-intensive or that require specialized expertise are the best applications for using third-party contractors.
Activities that are not strategic
The best starting point for developing and implementing a CSR strategy is gaining a clear perspective of work already done internationally on defining CSR issues and responses. It is equally valuable to review the annual CSR or sustainability reports of other organizations. These show how others have customized general principles and reporting guidelines to focus on their own particular industry's areas of interest and their own strategic goals. How should HR use the information contained in other organizations' annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reports when first devising their organization's sustainability strategy?
Adapt general principles and guidelines to the organization's strategic focus.
An online assessment that could be completed and returned quickly, conveniently, and from a distance would be best. In a knowledge-based organization, the employees are probably technologically proficient and would prefer a brief online survey. An open-door policy does not ensure a representative sample of attitudes. Focus groups will be impractical, given the organization's structure. A knowledge-based organization is highly decentralized, with many small offices and many employees who are highly task-oriented working remotely. Which would be the best way to measure employee attitudes in this organization? Answers
Administering a brief online survey
Ethical employers protect the rights of employees. This includes respecting employee privacy. The HR professional should model this respect for workplace privacy. Approaching the employee, even in good faith, violates privacy. If the supposed problems have created performance issues, the manager should have reported them, not the rumors. In a conversation outside of work, an accounts payable supervisor shares with an HR professional secondhand reports about another employee's marital problems. Which approach should the HR professional take?
Advise the supervisor not to engage in gossip.
Managing risk effectively entails taking steps to prevent the risk, lessen its impact, or transfer the burden of risk (e.g., through insurance). Hiring additional workers before absences occur may be an unnecessary expense. Simply staying abreast of the situation may mean that action will be taken too late. Lining up temporary help is a good idea, but if a flu outbreak affects many employers, who will all compete for temporary workers, this tactic may not help. The best risk management action may be to try to avoid the risk by making it easy for employees to receive flu shots. An HR manager is concerned about work interruption during the upcoming flu season. How can the HR manager best deal with this risk? Answers
Arrange for on-site flu shot clinics.
A young learning and development specialist, having recently completed graduate studies in adult education and training, is hired into an HR department that has a strong history of management and employee training programs. For now, the specialist's assignment is to undertake scheduled revisions of specific elements in the learning and development system. The programs have been well-attended and well-received by the organization, so there has been little need to change the learning approach. The specialist soon realizes that, while the course content is well-designed, built on sound practices, and engaging for participants, it offers little support or direction for transferring learning to the job environment. It is missing a major opportunity for improving job performance. She also notes a lack of competency-based learning that can be used by participants and their managers as performance standards to make it easier to implement and assess learning and performance levels. The specialist would like to propose changes, but she is new to the company and the HR function. Her colleagues are older than she is and much more experienced. They have created or directed the curriculum that she wants to change. She notices that they smile condescendingly when she speaks at department meetings about her ideas. They seldom talk to her and have been rather harsh in their reviews of her initial projects. It is difficult for her to argue for change using actual data because the evaluation tools the department uses focus primarily on Kirkpatrick's Levels 1 and 2. How can the specialist improve her relationship with her colleagues?
Asking a well-liked and respected colleague in the department to mentor her for the next year is the best approach. By developing this strong and positive relationship, she also developing a champion for her contributions. Asking for supervisor intervention may cause more resentment by colleagues. Being critical will surely affect her working relationships negatively. And finding more opportunities to demonstrate accomplishments may be viewed as competitive. CORRECT D. Ask a well-liked and respected colleague in the department to mentor her for the next year.
A manager at a large company e-mails the HR director asking for assistance. An employee on the manager's team will soon undergo a gender transition, and the employee plans to continue working during the transition. The employee is highly valued in the information technology department and is co-leading a project with a specialized consultant. The consultant is one of only two in the country who specialize in the area of the project. In the e-mail to the HR director, the manager indicates that other members of the team are aware of the employee's upcoming gender transition. In private discussions with the manager, some team members, including the consultant, have expressed a high level of discomfort regarding the situation. The manager would like the HR director's advice on how to handle the situation. What action should the HR director recommend to the manager regarding the employees who have expressed discomfort about the situation?
B is correct. Reinforcing the organization's stance on diversity and inclusion is an important first step in making the transitioning employee feel comfortable in the workplace. A, C, and D are incorrect, as they would not be first steps. They may be subsequent steps in helping the transitioning employee and other employees become more comfortable with each other in the workplace. B. Meet with each employee who expressed discomfort individually to review the company's policy on diversity and inclusion.
The recruiting department is overwhelmed with requests to hire more employees for a 24-hour company call center. Recently, several recruiters and a number of long-time, high-level performers resigned to work for competitors for better pay. The remaining workforce feels that the work is tedious, the pay is low, the space is noisy, and there are no opportunities for advancement. A high-volume contract recruiter from a local search firm has been brought in to assist in hiring for the call center vacancies. The contract recruiter sets up a private office and is given system access to all online search engines paid for by the company. The office doubles as an interview room, and the company is charged a finder's fee for each candidate that the call center manager interviews. The HR manager is alerted in casual conversation with the call center employees that the contract recruiter is the spouse of the call center manager and that several nonqualified candidates have been sent through the interview process at the company's expense. How might the HR manager quickly address compensation to assist with retention?
B is the best response, as it is immediate. Premium pay for additional hours worked may be awarded depending on country or local laws and regulations. A is incorrect. This would not address the issue of compensation. C is incorrect. Outsourcing is a strategy for call centers, but this does not address the question of compensation. D is incorrect, as it does not address the question. B. Based on local regulations, award premium pay for evening, holiday, and long hours.
A global consulting firm hires a director of business development from outside the organization, much to the disappointment of one of the managers in the department, who also applied for the position. This manager complains bitterly about the decision to go outside of the firm, and he continues to exhibit disruptive and angry behavior. He feels that he has been unfairly treated, since he believes that he has more experience than the newly hired director. Two months later, the new director of business development has made changes that most of her team are quite excited about. Unfortunately, this does not include the disappointed manager. He openly criticizes the director's ideas, even escalating this criticism to the CEO. He comes to HR to discuss his options in the company. The new director has also come separately to HR regarding the continued hostility from this manager and also about a new employee on the global sales team, who tends to stay to herself and does not interact with the rest of the team. The new sales employee has no problems with attaining her sales goals, but the director does not see her as a "team player" and asks the HR manager for assistance with how best to deal with both of these situations. What response should the HR manager provide to the disappointed and angry manager?
B is the best response, as the HR manager shows emotional intelligence in acknowledging that the manager is disappointed with the outcome. She also needs to address his belief that the process was not fair and ensure that the manager understands her role in ensuring consistency. Through feedback about his interview, the manager can gain valuable insight into how he presents himself. The HR manager should also share her recommendation with the interview team and, if needed, provide coaching and/or guidance on how to give unsuccessful candidates developmental feedback (if she has not already done so). A is incorrect. The role of the HR professional is not that of a counselor. If the employee is having emotional issues in dealing with the fact that he was not selected for the opportunity, the HR manager should consider referring him to the firm's employee assistance program. C is incorrect. While the HR manager has information as to the outcome, she does not have specific feedback about why this manager was not chosen. Additionally, taking an aggressive approach could cause the situation to escalate unnecessarily. D is incorrect. This approach is not constructive and could escalate the situation. CORRECT B. Show empathy for his disappointment, confirm that the process was objective, and provide specific deficiencies from his interview for the job.
The company president comes to the HR director and expresses considerable concern about customer complaints of poor service. Although the customer service manager has been with the company for five years, she is new to supervising and leading staff. The president has heard rumors that the department is in total chaos and asks the HR director to visit the manager and find out what is happening in the department. The HR director visits the customer service department and speaks with the manager. The manager confesses to being overwhelmed with the employee relations issues in the department and admits to being intimidated by the nepotism that exists within the company. Employees answer an average of two calls per hour, but the industry standard is six per hour. The manager welcomes any assistance the HR director can provide. The department is not fully staffed. There is a vacant position, and the job has been posted for two weeks. Other company employees do not want to apply because of the employee relations issues in the department. An HR staff member who has been assigned to monitor social media for references to the company reports to the HR director that an employee has posted a story about poor customer service at the company on a popular social media site. The employee says that this story is typical of the company's attitude toward its customers and its employees. The HR staff member thinks the employee is publicizing proprietary information. The director is not sure about that. How should the HR director handle this situation?
B is the best response. The discussion may uncover only an employee unhappy about some personal situation, but it could also provide helpful information about a problem that is affecting the company's image with customers and prospective employees. The director must be careful, however, to avoid encroaching on the employee's freedom of speech, especially if this is a unionized workplace. A is incorrect. Although firing may be the policy for breach of confidentiality, the HR director does not yet know if this event breached confidential information. C is incorrect. Outside legal counsel may be needed if the employee persists in attacking the company, but HR will benefit by staying closely involved in the situation for now. D is incorrect. It still has not yet been determined if the employee breached confidentiality. B. See if the employee is willing to discuss the situation in private
Job evaluation determines the relative worth of each job by establishing a hierarchy of jobs within an organization. It is intertwined with a concern for internal pay equity. How does using a job evaluation to determine the relative worth of each job assist in an organization being successful?
By serving as the basis for developing equitable salary structures, effective employee selection, and ongoing development
The CEO of a manufacturing organization with multiple domestic locations wants to expand the organization's operations to a new country to gain access to new markets. The organization has no experience with manufacturing internationally or dealing with expatriate issues. The CEO decides to acquire a small manufacturing company in another country. The acquired company has grown significantly in recent years and is struggling to deal with its growing pains, with many of the management staff having only a few years of management experience. Cost savings are anticipated from acquisition, as it would allow for restructuring and resizing the workforce. However, employees fear that these changes will cost many of them their jobs, including transitioning domestic jobs to the location in the new country. The VP of HR believes that a fully integrated workforce strategy, including the design of leadership training, is needed. The HR manager in the new location has just resigned. In keeping with an ethnocentric approach, the VP of HR wants the position filled from the corporate office so as to retain as much control and consistency as possible between the home country and the new location. Which action should HR take first when designing a leadership training and development plan for the newly acquired facility?
C is the best response. A gap analysis looks at the development plan from several different angles, often using a SWOT analysis. Gaps can then be prioritized using the criteria of permanence, impact, control, evidence, and root cause. A is incorrect. The new location may have different needs and/or laws. Using the domestic leadership development plan may be a good place to start, but it must be examined carefully to ensure that it is the best plan for the new location. B is incorrect. The former president of the facility will likely have thoughts about the effectiveness of the leadership team and its individual members. However, the president may not provide completely objective information. It is only one piece of the full gap analysis that needs to take place. D is incorrect. Asking the current leadership team about their training needs may be a good step to take when conducting a gap analysis. However, asking an individual about their own training needs will likely not provide for any blind spots that the individual has. A full gap analysis is needed. C. Conducting a full gap analysis between current and future leadership needs of the new facility and then designing a plan to meet those needs
A company has been giving its employees automatic pay increases annually. Recently, however, production has decreased, resulting in less profit. The president tasks HR with implementing a new goal-oriented pay plan to incentivize employees to increase production. HR designs a pay-for-performance plan and trains supervisors. HR also sends an e-mail to all employees explaining the change, referring employees with questions to their supervisor. As part of the new program, goal development is handled by supervisors. However, some supervisors feel that the change in pay philosophy is unnecessary and tell employees that the new pay plan will not work. Twelve months pass, and, upon review of performance evaluations, HR finds that some appraisals lack goals and do not objectively measure employees' work performance. The results are recommended pay increases that are subjective and unsubstantiated by metrics. Rumors that pay increases will be provided to employees who are favorites begin to impact morale, and work production continues to decline. Leadership is disappointed with the results of using a pay-for-performance system. HR is instructed to temporarily revert to the original pay plan and complete a further analysis of its continued viability. Employees are satisfied; however, the reputation of the company and HR has suffered by this rollout, and production has not increased and profits are still low. HR still believes that the cause of decreased production is the absence of incentive pay. Which recommendation should the HR manager include in a business case for an incentive pay program that would convince leaders while rebuilding HR's credibility?
C is the correct answer, because it considers the key factors critical to pay strategy development in the company's market and helps the company decide whether to lead, match, or lag its competitors. Incentive pay should align the employees' achievements with the organization's targeted objectives. A, B, and D are incorrect, as they include factors that are irrelevant to developing a pay strategy and may lack all the factors needed to appropriately analyze whether or not to implement incentive pay. CORRECT C. Analyze data related to the organization's mission, strategy, goals, size, industry, and location and on talent availability.
During the evaluation phase of strategic planning, strategic objectives are assessed to determine if the results are in line with the metrics that were defined at the start of strategic planning. Control of drift is one of the critical success factors that organizations successful at strategy have mastered. Soliciting stakeholder feedback is a necessary task when communicating strategy. Depending upon the initiative, it may not be a requirement for evaluating strategy. During the implementation stage, translating intent to specific plans and communicating the value or purpose of initiatives are critical. Assessing or evaluating strategic objectives is the next phase of the process, in which outcomes are compared to defined metrics. Which task is vital when assessing strategic objectives?
Comparing the outcome of strategic initiatives to outlined metrics
A multidomestic corporation is similar to a portfolio of independent businesses. Headquarters is in the home country, but over time the divisions achieve more autonomy. At this stage, HR is involved in coordinating HR activities with the goal of consistency while remaining flexible with local law and culture.
Coordinating HR activities between headquarters and the international offices
Data gathered by the instruments is critical because it will be used in to assess candidates according to the criteria the organization has chosen. The tools must be valid and reliable and produce consistent information for each candidate. Analysis of the costs versus the benefits occurs during the management and assignee selection step. Cross-cultural counseling is not necessary until the pre-departure preparation step. Which activity is part of the assessment and selection step of the global assignment process?
Development of data-gathering instruments
The question aligns with the most distinct characteristic of dual career ladders and lateral movement/growth. Which type of career development mobility provides meaningful career paths for professional and technical workers whose preferences may be outside traditional management roles?
Dual career ladders
A manager at a large company e-mails the HR director asking for assistance. An employee on the manager's team will soon undergo a gender transition, and the employee plans to continue working during the transition. The employee is highly valued in the information technology department and is co-leading a project with a specialized consultant. The consultant is one of only two in the country who specialize in the area of the project. In the e-mail to the HR director, the manager indicates that other members of the team are aware of the employee's upcoming gender transition. In private discussions with the manager, some team members, including the consultant, have expressed a high level of discomfort regarding the situation. The manager would like the HR director's advice on how to handle the situation. Several employees approach the HR director to express concerns about which bathroom the transitioning employee should use. Which action should the HR director take? Answers
D is correct. Support for transitioning employees is best demonstrated by normalizing the gender they are presenting as. A simple way to do this is to encourage the use of the bathroom that matches their gender expression. A and B are incorrect, as not all organizations have a gender-neutral or private bathroom. C is incorrect, as it would not be reasonable to encourage employees to use the restrooms of an opposite gender. D. Tell the transitioning employee to use whichever bathroom is preferable to the employee.
An HR manager is the liaison for the sales department at an organization with roughly 600 employees. Recently the organization had a slight downturn in revenue and profit. To save money, over the past year, the sales department's senior management has laid off several administrative assistants and assigned their work tasks, such as photocopying and processing sales orders, to the sales staff. Additionally, the department has modified its compensation system by reducing base pay but increasing sales commissions. The HR manager believes that the additional work duties and new compensation system have put substantial stress on employees. It's been observed that employees seem dissatisfied with their jobs and are leaving the organization or thinking of leaving. One recently departed employee told the HR manager that he had looked for a new job because the increased workload caused him to make fewer sales, thereby significantly reducing his salary. The HR manager brings their concerns to the vice president (VP) of sales. The manager tells the VP that he is worried about the effects of these changes on the department, such as high turnover and the loss of institutional knowledge. The VP disagrees with the manager; he believes that turnover is good for the department because poorly performing employees are leaving. The VP notes that one employee comes in late, leaves early, and takes a long lunch break every day. The VP believes that the recent changes to compensation save the company money by not employing administrative assistants and motivate sales employees to work harder by focusing on sales commissions. The VP tells the HR manager to ignore employees' complaints and focus on hiring new employees who are willing to take on the additional tasks and work harder. What is the best way for the HR manager to evaluate the effectiveness of the new compensation system to increase sales?
D is the best answer, because it uses research conducted in other organizations. Although the findings may or may not generalize to this company, the approach is very inexpensive and easy and takes advantage of rigorous research conducted by academics and experienced HR professionals. A is incorrect. Employees have limited expertise to drive their assessment of the compensation system, and satisfaction does not necessarily correlate with effectiveness. B is incorrect. It will provide information about what other organizations are doing but will not allow for an evaluation of the compensation system as it relates to sales. C is incorrect. By conducting due diligence, the HR manager could review existing research and decipher if and how the changes have impacted other organizations. This could save time spent on ineffective approaches. CORRECT D. Review existing research and literature on best practices to see if similar changes in other organizations have been effective.
For the past several years, a company has experienced frequent turnover in the CFO position due to poor performance. After the first CFO was terminated, the VP of HR and the CEO reviewed the job description. A selection committee was formed to perform interviews with candidates, and a single interview was held with each candidate using knowledge-based questions. After three months a candidate was hired. One year later the candidate was released due to poor performance. The same recruiting process was used with a limited selection of candidates. A third CFO was hired three months later. The company is now preparing to terminate this CFO due to poor job performance and not meeting the expectations of the company. What should the VP of HR do first to assist the organization in hiring the next CFO?
D is the best answer. A thorough job analysis using research provides an objective assessment of the KSAOs required for the job. A is incorrect. There is no information that suggests that this is a viable option. B is incorrect. The current job description has already resulted in three bad hires. C is incorrect. A salary survey could be conducted, but it would not be the first step. D. Conduct a job analysis prior to conducting an executive search.
An HR consultant receives a phone call from the CFO of a mid-sized family-owned manufacturing company. She states that the company's turnover is nearing 100% in the operations department. Employees are staying an average of 60 to 90 days before leaving. Exit interviews indicate that turnover is due to lack of training. The CFO doesn't understand this data, because all new employees participate in a one-day orientation and an onboarding program. The consultant further learns that the manager of the operations department has a reputation for being aggressive and direct. The manager, who directly reports to the CEO, has been with the company for ten years and is a good friend of the owners' family. The CFO admits that the manager can be difficult to deal with but nobody says anything because of the manager's strong relationship with the family. She says that while morale is low in the department, the company hasn't conducted an employee survey in at least two years. The CFO asks the consultant for help in fixing the turnover problem. They discuss various options, including training, coaching, and an employee engagement survey. A minimal budget has been provided to determine which tasks are necessary and to complete them. The consultant agrees that turnover needs to be addressed quickly. Which are the initial actions they should take to determine the root cause?
D is the best response. Additional analysis may identify relevant information that was missed. The consultant may follow up directly with the participants, who may be more open to talking to an outside consultant than to someone in house. A is incorrect. The HR consultant has already spoken with the CFO. Something else needs to be done to understand the issue more completely using different data. B is incorrect. The family that owns the company may not have enough knowledge on an operational level to add input. Moreover, the views of the family could be biased given the close relationship with the operations manager. C is incorrect. The executive staff may not understand the issue as deeply because they are not working day-to-day in the operations department D. Further analyze exit interview information for details about training deficiencies
Blue-collar workers, such as electricians, are considered nonexempt employees regardless of how highly they are compensated. Insurance adjustors who interview witnesses, make claim recommendations, and negotiate settlements are considered exempt employees, as are human resource managers who formulate, interpret, and implement employment policies. Salaried executives are also exempt, based on their job duties under the white-collar exemptions, which include executive, administrative, professional, or outside sales positions. Which occupation is considered nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act?
Electrician
The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. The HR generalist wants to ensure that employees are held accountable but also that they are set up for success. How can the HR generalist help make certain this happens?
D is the best response. Partnering with management to ensure that they and their team members are aware of training resources helps to confirm that all members of the team are aligned toward the goal and the vision. A is incorrect. Not creating a supportive environment that ensures the success of employees would result in low morale, low job performance, and failed business goals. B is incorrect. Simply asking if managers think the description is correct is not an effective method of maintaining job descriptions. C is incorrect. Reviewing the importance of job descriptions is helpful but does not establish an action plan for accountability or employee success. D. Partner with management to make certain that employees are aware of additional training resources available.
An HR consultant receives a phone call from the CFO of a mid-sized family-owned manufacturing company. She states that the company's turnover is nearing 100% in the operations department. Employees are staying an average of 60 to 90 days before leaving. Exit interviews indicate that turnover is due to lack of training. The CFO doesn't understand this data, because all new employees participate in a one-day orientation and an onboarding program. The consultant further learns that the manager of the operations department has a reputation for being aggressive and direct. The manager, who directly reports to the CEO, has been with the company for ten years and is a good friend of the owners' family. The CFO admits that the manager can be difficult to deal with but nobody says anything because of the manager's strong relationship with the family. She says that while morale is low in the department, the company hasn't conducted an employee survey in at least two years. The CFO asks the consultant for help in fixing the turnover problem. They discuss various options, including training, coaching, and an employee engagement survey. A minimal budget has been provided to determine which tasks are necessary and to complete them. The CFO has requested that the consultant administer an employee survey. Which action should the consultant take to determine if a survey would, in fact, be the best step to take at this point?
D is the best response. The HR consultant needs to establish expectations that a survey may uncover issues the executive team doesn't know about and it is harmful to ignore them and that the team must act on the results. This approach will establish credibility for the HR consultant and ensure that the survey can propel the company forward. The consultant can also talk with the executive team to determine what information would be important, from their perspective, to collect as part of the survey. A is incorrect. The survey should be customized to the company's needs. B is incorrect, because there are no recent past surveys. If surveys were done in the past, they are over two years old and therefore would not have as much impact. C is incorrect, because the HR consultant does not have the financial resources to hire an outside firm. D. Request assurance from the entire executive team that action will be taken based on the results of the survey.
The performance of the head of the IT department has been eroding in the past few years. The employee is no longer capable of meeting the minimum expectations of this role as result of not keeping current in his professional development. Management is struggling to hold the employee accountable while also keeping employee morale positive. There is also a concern that, if placed on a performance improvement plan or a documented coaching program, the employee would respond negatively and retaliate by wreaking havoc on the organization's IT infrastructure. The length of employment has allowed the employee to be protected from accountability in the past. Management has decided that the current situation is no longer tenable, but they also realize the precarious place they have put the organization in by failing to have sufficient safeguards in place to protect company assets. Management approaches the new HR generalist and asks what steps they can take to either create an environment where the IT manager can succeed or effectively manage the IT manager out of the organization. Prior to this discussion, the HR generalist was not aware of either the previous protections afforded to the employee or of the failure of management to hold the employee accountable. The HR generalist is concerned that management has tolerated this behavior for so long and wonders if there are other employees in the organization who have been similarly protected from being held accountable or being disciplined. The HR generalist realizes that two issues need to be addressed. The HR generalist realizes that there is the potential for other employees to have been shielded from accountability. Which action should the HR generalist take to ensure that all employees are being treated equally? Answers
D is the best response. The HR generalist needs to ensure that tenured employees are not being given a level of protection that newer employees may not be receiving. Additionally, this allows the HR generalist to review with current managers how to effectively hold employees accountable. This option also allows the HR generalist to reset expectations with all managers over time, ensuring that there is consistency. A is incorrect. Holding a company-wide meeting with this information may be perceived as confrontational. B is incorrect. Reviewing with managers that all employees need to be held accountable lacks any specificity regarding planning or priority setting. C is incorrect, as it would be inappropriate to send out communications on policy without the involvement of the managers. D. Meet with managers of the most tenured employees first to ensure that shielding of tenured employees from accountability is not an ongoing practice.
Demand analysis forecasts an organization's future workforce composition and considers the number of employees and the skills required to meet organizational goals. The determination that 20 new employees are needed to achieve the organizational strategy for growth in global markets is included in which phase of the workforce analysis process?
Demand analysis
The design phase identifies the behaviors participants will practice at the end of the program. The goals state the purpose and intent of the program, while the objectives are the behavioral results expected from the program. An HR director has been assigned to develop a program to support the opening of new retail stores. Which step in the ADDIE process identifies the behavioral results of the program?
Design
The process of conducting an audit typically begins with determination of the scope and type of the audit. What is the first step in preparing for an HR audit?
Determine the scope and type of audit
An ERP system is an integrated information system that serves all departments in an organization. Such a system typically includes software for functions such as customer relationship management, manufacturing resource planning, finance, supply chain, and human resources. Your organization needs to integrate functions and data for customer relationship management, manufacturing resource planning, finance, supply chain, and human resources. Which would be the best type of technology to implement?
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
The social aspect of employee well-being focuses on work relationships, work/life balance, equity, respect, and connectedness. An organization has experienced significant turnover among its creative writers. During exit interviews, the writers have expressed dissatisfaction with rigid starting times, a lack of recognition for their work, and poor communication between managers and employees. How should the organization incorporate the social well-being aspect in its action plan to address the issue?
Establish a work/life program that allows flexibility.
In an ethnocentric approach, headquarters maintains tight control over international operations, subsidiaries have little autonomy, and key positions are held by headquarters personnel. A strong headquarters bias often blinds management to the subtleties of cross-cultural differences. The creation of a global compensation and benefits strategy that ignores local differences in culture is most likely to occur in what approach to global management?
Ethnocentric
Internet recruiting can definitely provide an effective means to entice job applicants and also allow for filtering mechanisms. But the same legal and ethical considerations that apply to the more traditional recruiting methods also apply to the Internet. Which is a potential advantage of using Internet recruiting?
Fast and effective distribution of listings
A functional organization is organized according to a linear process, for example, design, supplies, procurement, manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution, and customer service. Which organizational structure is best described as being divided according to a linear process?
Functional organization
Perquisites are compensation provided on an individual basis in the form of goods or services. Included in this category are company automobiles, club memberships, and the like. How are perquisites generally characterized?
Goods or services provided on an individualized basis
A collective bargaining agreement almost always includes a formal grievance procedure. This process provides an orderly way to resolve the inevitable differences of opinion in regard to the union contract. Which method is initially used to resolve disputes regarding interpretation of a clause in a current union contract?
Grievance procedures
An OED intervention should help to identify the internal and external factors that affect the corporation. While individual training and development needs may be identified or job tasks may change as a result, the emphasis is on the organization as a whole. An organization fears that it has become less competitive. Which should an OED assessment of this issue identify?
Internal and external factors that impact organizational success
Most countries reject the notion of at-will employment, so contracts generally are required, often within a set time frame from the point of hire. Verbal contracts may be accepted in some countries, but many require a written contract or written details of employment. Terms of employment vary greatly from country to country. Which is an accurate statement about employment at-will?
It is uncommon in most parts of the world.
By leaving implementation to managers at local and national levels, the initiative will be flexible enough to be successful organization-wide. The initiative should be translated into as many languages as needed, to enhance understanding across the organization. Just because one language may be more commonly used does not mean that it will be widely or universally understood. Forcing the initiative to be implemented uniformally may result in the initiative violating laws in some localities or violating cultural norms, causing the initiative to be less effective. Regardless of how forward-thinking the policy is, it will necessarily have to change and adapt over time in order to continue to be successful. A large multinational organization is implementing an organization-wide diversity and inclusion initiative. Which practice will help the initiative succeed?
Leave implementation to managers at the local and national levels, so the policy can be adjusted for local laws, norms, and traditions.
HR should work with the organization's legal counsel to ensure that the policy and practices do not violate any state or local laws, such as those related to password privacy. In addition to information technology, which other business function should HR work with when developing a "bring your own device" (BYOD) policy?
Legal counsel
In low-context cultures, people react to what is explicitly communicated so that those coming into the environment know how to behave. What term describes a culture that prefers training activities that spell out details and use direct and logical communication?
Low-context
Marketing and sales are the functions that bring in revenue. Marketing positions products, and sales sells products and services to customers. Which part of the organization has primary responsibility for bringing in revenue?
Marketing and sales
Managing change requires all of the skills listed, but proficiency in communication is most important because it is key to involving the members of the organization in the change, engaging their support of the change, and initiating conversations that can improve the change initiative and increase employees' understanding of what is required for the success of the initiative. What skill could most improve an HR function's ability to manage change?
Mastery of complex communication means Evaluation
In risk management terminology, the most inclusive answer here is that a risk control is any measure that modifies risk by decreasing the likelihood that a risk event will occur or the impact that the event would have on the organization. In terms of risk management, what is a risk control?
Measure taken to reduce the probability or severity of a threat
The process of creating an ethical environment must begin with the organization's leaders. It must receive continuous reinforcement from leadership at all levels. An organization is interested in beginning the process of creating an ethical environment. Who has the most impact on the success of this process?
Organization's leaders
To fully benefit from diversity and inclusion, organizations increasingly seek diversity on multiple dimensions of an individual. While recognizing the specific needs of identity groups, Gardenswartz and Rowe describe four layers of diversity: organizational, external, internal, and personality. This model highlights that all employees are multidimensional and individuals are more complex than their visible identities might suggest. To encourage a move away from identity groups to a more conceptual perspective of diversity, Gardenswartz and Rowe discuss which four dimensions of diversity?
Organizational, external, internal, and personality
The Hersey-Blanchard theory states that effective leaders change their leadership style to provide the level of direction and interaction that individual employees need at that point in their development. Since one employee's needs will differ from another's and since an employee's needs six months from now will be different from the employee's present needs, leaders must be able to identify an individual's current needs and provide the most effective levels of direction (from managing closely to delegating) and motivation (from selling the employee on the task at hand to empowering the employee through participative decision making). Which statement exemplifies Hersey-Blanchard's situational leadership theory?
Over time individuals require a different type of direction and leadership.
The manager should be reminded that just because the activities are being conducted differently does not mean that they are unethical. Conducting an investigation would be the next step. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the employee may be told to stop the activity and or be fired. HR has been approached by a manager in a host country stating that activities being conducted by an employee are different than those in the home country and must be unethical. What should HR advise as the first step for this manager?
Remind the manager that just because the activities are being conducted differently does not mean that they are unethical.
Replacement planning ensures the continuity of business operations, while succession planning provides deep bench strength. How does replacement planning differ from succession planning?
Replacement planning ensures the continuity of business operations; succession planning provides deep bench strength throughout the organization.
An essential job function is one that is performed regularly and requires highly specialized skills or expertise, and, in many cases, the reason the job exists is to perform the function. Nonessential functions typically can be performed by many different people, and, if not completed, there are often minimal consequences. Which characteristic typically distinguishes a job function as essential?
Requirements for highly specialized skills
Organizational success often depends on contributions from employees of all ages and the open sharing of knowledge and experience that will help prepare future organizational leaders. Succession planning can promote productive relationships, employee motivation, collaboration, and leadership development. An organization has four generations working side-by-side in the workplace. Which practice could alleviate management concerns that intergenerational tensions and a lack of camaraderie could undermine organizational success?
Succession planning
Succession planning is a strategy for identifying and fostering the development of high-potential employees who, over time, may move into leadership positions. The objective of succession planning is to ensure that a practice continues to operate successfully when individuals who have hard-to-replace competencies or who occupy critical positions depart. Employees who are critical to an organization's success are the primary focus of which aspect of a talent management strategy?
Succession planning
Because a code of conduct must address the risks and compliance requirements specific to an organization, it is a good practice to include discussions with a broad representation of the organization's members before drafting a code. While the organization's values are considered in drafting the code, they are not the basis of the code. While the code must be reviewed regularly, constantly revising it can lead to employees' not knowing the ethical mandates. Which is a good practice for implementing a code of conduct?
Talk with members of the organization to better understand ethical challenges and compliance requirements.
The diaspora refers to a mass migration of voluntary emigrants from their homelands to multiple destinations. The demographic dichotomy describes the trend of a younger workforce in emerging economies while developed countries are experiencing an aging workforce. International assignees and globalists are types of global assignments. Which type of globalization is characterized by large numbers of emerging country populations moving abroad for better employment opportunities?
The diaspora
The migration from the licensing of a product to subscribing for a service is often handled through a service level agreement (SLA). SLAs formally define service expectations and terms. Real-time monitoring service levels are addressed as well as customer versus client concerns. The client does not need to install or customize software; both are done by the vendor. What is the impact that a service level agreement has when an organization moves from licensing software to software as a service (SaaS)?
The organization will not need to implement or customize software.
The sustainability sweet spot includes actions that satisfy all three of the needs in the triple bottom line: benefits to the environment (or planet); employees, customers, or neighbors (people); and the organization's financial health (profit). What is meant by the sustainability sweet spot?
The overlapping area of the triple bottom line perspectives
The Global Reporting Initiative Standards (or GRI Standards) establish uniform ways to report the outcomes of an organization's sustainability initiatives. This allows the performance of organizations to be compared. The GRI Standards focus on a breadth of issues, from social to environmental. They are specific in calculating outcomes. They are not a pathway to creating a CSR program but provide metrics and instructions to use in evaluating and reporting CSR performance. How does an organization's adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative Standards for reporting corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance benefit HR?
The standards enable comparison of different organizations' CSR performance.
The primary reason for developing diversity programs is to make it easier for employees to communicate effectively and work together more productively. What is the primary reason for developing workforce diversity programs?
To enhance productivity
It is crucial to both translate and localize words from one language to the next. If just the words are translated, significant misunderstandings may occur due to different cultural interpretations. Which should organizations ensure when considering the use of international translation services? Answers
Understanding and capability beyond just the translation of words
Vicarious liability is a legal doctrine under which a party can be held liable for the wrongful actions of another party. Because of this doctrine, employers are legally responsible for the discriminatory acts of their employees. In cases of sexual harassment, where the harassment does not result in a tangible employment action, this particular standard of vicarious liability is based on two principles: 1) employers have the responsibility to promptly and irrevocably end harassment (sexual or otherwise) through appropriate intervention, including, if necessary, discipline, and 2) employees should be encouraged to take advantage of preventive and corrective opportunities. Which of the following terms describes the impact on an employer when an employee reports an incident of workplace harassment by a supervisor but the supervisor fails to act on it?
Vicarious liability
ROI analysis is used to evaluate an investment opportunity. The only investment scenario in the choices is hiring new staff. The ROI analysis would compare the value of the output of additional staff (the return) with the costs to hire and retain staff (the investment). An organization's financial health might be assessed through various debt ratios and its cash flow. Productivity ratios examine output relative to input (e.g., revenue per full-time equivalent employee). A compliance audit would be used to assess compliance with regulatory requirements. When would a return on investment (ROI) analysis be an effective metric?
When a function is seeking budget to hire new staff
In order to make data sources consistent with one another, aging of data is needed. Aging data from surveys and comparing it to where the organization is allows an understanding of how close you are to your compensation philosophy (lag, match, or lead) for the organization's salary structure. Under which circumstances would it be important for an HR manager to age data?
When trying to understand the organization's current pay competitiveness and where it needs to be
