Exam 2

Sylas, a manager at LiveWell Corp., believes that he can fire Madison, his subordinate, at any time he wishes to do so. Which of the following, if true, would help strengthen Sylas' belief?

Madison does not have a specific employment contract with the company.

Which statement best describes outsourcing?

It refers to contracting with another organization to perform a broad set of services.

Toy-Time is a firm that manufactures toys. Very often, employees of the firm are on leave, citing physical strain as the cause. An expert hired by the company investigates the situation and recommends investing in an ergonomics study of the work environment. In this scenario, the expert is recommending

a study of the interface between individuals' physiology and the characteristics of the physical work environment.

Which statement is true of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET)?

It uses a common language that generalizes across jobs to describe the abilities, work styles, work activities, and work context required for various occupations.

Which measure of validity is based on showing a substantial correlation between test scores and job performance scores?

criterion-related validity

In the context of human resource planning, the primary goal of forecasting is to

predict labor shortages or surpluses in specific areas of an organization.

Sparkle Spin, a national appliance brand, recruited 15 people as brand managers. They all took a test as part of the recruitment process. Three months after the recruitment, their test scores were analyzed along with their performance on the job to find a substantial correlation between the two factors. Which method of research is exemplified in this scenario?

predictive validation

In most organizations, the first step in the personnel selection process is

screening the applications to see which ones meet the basic requirements for the job.

Who has the main responsibility of developing a formal discipline process for the workplace?

the human resource department

Justine, a marketing executive in her late thirties, had worked at a reputable marketing firm for the last three years. However, she was fired from the company without any prior notice when she collapsed at work after experiencing an epileptic seizure. Following this, Justine sued the company under

Americans with Disabilities Act.

Which statement is true of an apprenticeship?

An apprentice can earn an income while learning a trade.

Russell, the new human resource manager at RTL Inc., proposes using automated systems for screening résumés of applicants. Russell claims that automated systems are better than humans at picking the right profiles. Which statement weakens Russell's claim?

Automated systems might reject qualified people who didn't use the same keywords as the job description.

During the Job Analysis lecture we discussed the importance of creating job descriptions. Students were encouraged to write job descriptions to follow the 4 C's, which stands for:

Complete, Compact, Consistent, Compliant

The degree to which employees are fully involved in their work, and as a result, their commitment to their employer and job, is referred to as:

Employee Engagement

When completing an online personality test for pre-employment, which of the following was not offered as a tip to passing them?

Find a "Keyword" that gets to the bottom of the question, such as "maddening"

Identify the step that can be taken by an organization to enrich manufacturing jobs for its employees

Give employees more authority to manage the production process.

A start-up software company hires Kiera as its first human resource manager. Whenever a new position needs to be filled, Kiera sits down with the supervisor to gather facts that will be included in a realistic job preview. Kiera knows that the impact of job previews on candidates is limited, but she believes the effort is important anyway. Which statement best explains Kiera's decision to provide realistic job previews?

Giving realistic information is not expensive or difficult, so it is worth even a small benefit.

Which statement best defines a competency?

It is an area of personal capability that enables employees to perform successfully.

Isabella has joined the HR department of PLT Inc. as an intern. The organization plans on giving all newly hired site engineers copies of their job descriptions to help them understand what the organization expects of them. Isabella has been given the task of conducting job analyses and creating job descriptions for the site engineers. What should Isabella consider while creating the job descriptions?

Job descriptions contain detailed specifications of the tasks involved in carrying out each duty.

Which statement is true regarding KSAOs?

KSAOs are characteristics of people and are not directly observable.

Mark and Amy hold the same position at an organization. However, Mark is paid more than Amy. According to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, what will strengthen the fact that the pay difference is a legal one?

Mark works the night shift.

The importance of using the STAR method when interviewing with a potential employer was discussed. What does STAR stand for?

Situation, Task, Action, Result

Yoza Inc., a manufacturer of electronic goods, is experiencing financial losses. The company is also facing the problem of a labor surplus due to low demand for its products. In this context, what would be the best way for Yoza Inc. to deal with this labor surplus?

The company must consider downsizing because it is the quickest way to deal with a labor surplus that results in financial losses.

A manager who promises a raise to an employee only if they participate in sexual activities is said to be engaging in quid pro quo harassment.

True

Elliot, a human resource manager, tells managers in his organization that following the system of progressive discipline requires written documentation at every step of the process. In which situation could this be optional?

The manager reminds an employee that a minor first-time offense is against policy.

Barbara is interviewing for a paralegal position at one of the biggest law firms in the country. During the interview, she is asked a particular question that she refuses to answer. Frustrated by her behavior, the interviewer repeats the question. She refuses to answer it again and says that it violates her rights under equal employment opportunity law. Which question is she most likely being asked?

What is your ancestry?

From the view of a candidate applying for a job with an employer, all of the following are important, except

Whether the pen is blue or red

Which scenario reflects a job lacking the characteristic of task significance?

a job that has minimal impact on the lives of other people

Herbert, an HR manager at Maxtier Inc., hires 50 employees in five months. He used different sources of recruitment to recruit these employees. He wants to know which kind of source delivered the most new hires for the money. To answer that question, Herbert should determine the

cost per hire

Differing conduct toward individuals, where the differences are clearly based on the individuals' race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability status is termed as

disparate treatment.

Jacob, the CEO at Einstein Inc., learns that his company is perceived as low-value by customers. He plans to combat this by hiring highly skilled and knowledgeable employees in order to improve Einstein's competitive standing. In this scenario, Jacob will most likely be hiring

employees with a core competency.

Berns Inc. hires Allen as a supervisor in the company. They have an implied understanding that both the employer and the employee have the right to end their relationship at any time they desire. In the context of personnel policies, the relationship between the company and Allen is based on the

employment-at-will policy.

GGT Ad Agency, an advertising firm, requires its employees to be at work between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. This work rule allows employees to work additional hours before or after the time period in order to work the full day. Identify the job design method implemented in this scenario.

flextime

Christina, an HR manager at Dixon Inc., is dealing with labor shortage problems due to a sudden increase in production levels at the company. Among the following options, the fastest way to fix this problem is to

hire temporary employees.

What are the most widespread methods for eliminating labor shortages?

hiring temporary workers and outsourcing work

Ryan, an employee at GoBiz Inc., is known for his short-tempered and argumentative nature. During a heated exchange at work one day, Ryan makes a derogatory gesture toward his manager, which causes Ryan to be fired. This scenario is an example of

involuntary turnover.

Cory, an HR manager, observes that the number of employees quitting their jobs has been steadily increasing over the last six months. On closer inspection, he finds that a majority of the employees who quit were unhappy with the pay structures. Cory assesses the significance of each job to the organization, which helps him set up fair pay structures. This in turn helps the organization retain valuable employees. What most likely relates to the task undertaken by Cory?

job evaluation

Central High School has three open positions for teachers. The school's HR personnel review résumés to identify the candidates who meet the school's minimum requirements. Next, potential candidates are then invited for interviews. After this, interviewers discuss the results with HR personnel and select a short list of candidates, who then appear before a panel of teachers and HR personnel for the final interview. Central's new teachers are then selected from among these finalists. Which terms describes Central's method of selection?

multiple-hurdle model

What is the simplest, most direct, and least expensive way to settle a dispute?

open-door policy

The _____ of a type of measurement indicates how free that measurement is from random error.

reliability

In the context of evaluating the quality of a recruitment source, yield ratios express the

percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment and selection process to the next.

Which process seeks to avert misbehavior and to correct, rather than merely punish, misbehavior?

progressive discipline

What does an employer violate when it terminates an employee for refusing to do something unethical, unsafe, and illegal?

public policy

In the context of managing human resources, the process of __________ creates a buffer between planning and the actual selection of new employees.

recruiting

A manufacturing company, hit by a slump in demand, is experiencing a labor surplus. The company expects the market to improve in six months, and it does not want to lay off any of its employees. Which strategy is an equitable way to handle this issue and spread the burden more fairly?

reduced work hours

In the context of HR planning, implementation that ties planning and recruiting to an organization's strategy and to its efforts to develop employees becomes a complete program of

talent management.

Jessica wants to set up a manufacturing unit, so she meets with Rachel, a human resource manager at her company. Rachel explains that in order to decide on the human resource needs for the unit, they should conduct a work flow analysis. She suggests they start by defining the outputs of the process. To do this, what should Jessica define?

the type of products that will need to be manufactured

What is the objective of job enlargement?

to make jobs less repetitive and more interesting

The _____ of an employment test is indicated by the extent to which the test scores relate to actual job performance.

validity