Human Resource Chapter 4,5,&6

Betty helped a sales manager place an ad on job boards and hire five new salespeople. She calculates that the total cost to recruit and select these employees was $200,000. What was the cost per hire for this recruiting effort?

$40,000

Emplovees in company's accounting department work 10 hours a day for 4 days a week, while employees in the other departments work 8 hours a day for 5 days a week. The flexible work schedule option affecting the accounting department is known as

A compressed workweek

Which statement best describes a phased-retirement program?

It refers to reducing both the number of hours older employees work as well as the cost of these employees.

Which statement about the Occupational Information Network (O'NET) is true?

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

Nathan and Emily are H managers at a large investment firm. They are expecting a labor surplus over the next two years resulting in the organization having 24 more employees than needed. Typically, two employees leave the organization each month. Which HR strategy should Nathan and Emily consider, taking into account the length of time they have available?

Natural attrition

An HR manager recruits her cousin as production manager in the company. This move results in resentment among several of the companys emplovees. By hiring her cousin, the manager has engaged in the practice of hiring relatives, called

Nepotism

A company hires Bradley as a supervisor in the company. It has 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 Bradley is based on the

employment-at-will policy

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

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

In the Job Characteristics Model, feedback refers to the extent to which

a person receives clear information about performance effectiveness from the work itself

Which strategy is used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to increase ergonomic job design?

enforcing violations of its requirement that employers have a general duty to protect workers from hazards, including ergonomic hazards

The manager of a small grocery store introduces a short conveyor belt that allows customers to place items on it prior to checking out. This saves the cashier from the physical strain of bending forward and reaching into the carts to retrieve the items. This change is an example of the _____ approach to job design

ergonomic

What happens in the final stage of human resources planning?

evaluating outcomes

An advertising firm requires its employees to be at work between the hours of 10:00 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

Organizations carry out human resource planning to

gain an advantage over competitors.

Mario has completed the first step in his HR planning, and is ready to begin the second step, which is

goal setting and strategic planning

CareerBuilder and Monster are examples of which type of recruiting source?

help-wanted advertising

Anna Beth is dealing with labor shortage problems due to a sudden and temporary increase in orders prior to the holiday season. Among the following options, the fastest way to fix this problem is to

hire temporary employees

Dominic, an HR manager, is expecting a labor surplus for the company in the month of November. This gives Dominic nearly eight months to deal with the problem. In order to reduce the labor surplus, Dominic decides to use a ____ strategy, which causes less suffering for employees.

hiring freeze

In the context of work flow design, which best illustrates a position?

Alice's job is to provide health and safety guidelines to all employees, and to regularly check people to make sure they have followed the guidelines.

A CEO determines that the company needs to eliminate a labor surplus to avoid financial difficulties. To deal with this problem, the CEO chooses a strategy that gives fast results. However, the amount of suffering caused to employees is high. The CEO is most likely using the strategy to reduce the labor surplus.

Downsizing

Beck is proud of his team of warm, knowledgeable, and ethical recruiters at Loving Insurance. They give realistic job previews, and they keep up to date on the company's policies so they can provide applicants with accurate answers to questions. However, it sometimes takes a while to fill positions. And over the past year, Beck has observed that the number of applicants who accept offers has fallen. He follows up with several who turned down offers and learns that they took jobs elsewhere because they developed an unfavorable opinion of Loving Insurance. Which situation most likely explains this problem?

Candidates are not getting timely feedback about the aIr applications.

An HR manager 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 guestion. the manager should determine the

Cost per hire

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

Give emplovees more authority to vary the production process

Gino is the CEO of a company that has a team-oriented culture in which people perform as teams and complete short-term projects to earn revenue. After studying his company's structure, Gino feels the company's current processes are inefficient. As a result, he decides to downsize the organization and then use the profits to enhance the organization's efficiency. What is a disadvantage of this approach?

Downsizing will interfere with the effectiveness of the organization's teamwork.

Charlotte heads the production department at Hoey Inc., a firm that stresses the importance of maintaining regular contact with customers. Charlotte is expecting a labor surplus in the future. A supervisor recommends downsizing as an option to deal with this labor surplus; however, Charlotte rejects this option. Which statement will validate that Charlotte made the right decision?

Downsizing would hurt long-term organizational effectiveness.

Which scenario qualifies as a compressed workweek?

Employees work 10 hours a day so that they work fewer days per week to reach 40 hours.

Bao, a production manager, works with a human resource consultant to design a new work flow for the production unit. Together they define the necessary inputs. These include raw materials, information, human resources, and ___

Equipment.

A firm that develops software applications for other companies moved into a new office space. Most of the employees complained about the lack of comfortable seating arrangements. Following up on the complaint, the HR department advised management to invest in studying the ergonomics of the new office space. What would serve as an incentive for the company to invest in the study of ergonomics?

Ergonomics reduces the physical strain on employees performing a job.

Which statement about trends in job analysis is true?

Errors in job analysis have multiple sources, but most result from outdated job descriptions.

Trade Parts is a small machine shop that makes custom parts for manufacturers in the metropolitan area where it is located. Farrin's position involved keeping track of customers' orders and purchasing supplies. After Farrin retired, the company hired another office assistant to perform the same tasks. Soon atterward however. the company's owner began hearing from frustrated customers complaining that when they called the company with questions and problems, no one was taking responsibility and helping them as Farrin had. What problem with the process is most likely to have occurred when Farrin left?

Farrin took on customer service duttes, but the job descriotion didn't reflect the change.

Which job analysis method requires subject-matter experts to evaluate a job in terms of abilities required to perform the job?

Fleishman Job Analysis System

Fran, a manager at a large home decor store, is expecting increased sales during the upcoming holiday season. He knows that his current workforce will not be able to meet demand, putting him at risk of a labor shortage. Which strategy would be the best option to help Fran avoid a labor shortage?

Fran should hire temporary emplovees because he can let them co once the holiday season is over

Information from observers should be used to supplement information from incumbents. Identify the statement that is most likely to support this argument.

Incumbents provide accurate information, but they may have an incentive to exaggerate what they do to appear more valuable to the organization.

What would be an outcome to a company if it applies industrial engineering to existing jobs?

Industrial engineering will provide measurable and practical benefits.

Which statement regarding internal recruitment sources is true?

Internal recruiting minimizes the possibility of unrealistic employee expectations.

What is a benefit of relying on internal recruitment sources to find potential employees?

Internal sources are generally cheaper and faster than other means.

Why is temporary employment popular with employers?

It gives employers flexibility in operations.

Which statement best describes outsourcing?

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

NIS is a firm that builds information systems for banks and other financial institutions. In its presentations to prospective clients, the firm claims to have skilled employees. What does NIS mean by this?

Its employees have a high level of proficiency required to perform a particular task.

What is a basic difference between job specifications and job descriptions?

Job descriptions look at a job's activities, and job specifications look at the qualities needed to do the job.

A publishing company conducted an internal survey on employee satisfaction. The results indicated that a majority of its support staff considered their jobs to be monotonous. In order to change this, management decided to combine the job duties of copyeditors, digital fact checkers, and bloggers into a single job that requires all three kinds of work. Which technique of job desian did this move constitute?

Job extensions

The process of communicating information about a job vacancy on company bulletin boards, in employee publications, on corporate intranets, and anywhere else an organization communicates with emplovees is referred to as

Job posting

Which statement about KSAOs is true?

KSAOs are characteristics of people and are not directly observable.

Danny has been newly appointed as the head of the HR team at Dorige Corp. In an attempt to establish a more efficient and reliable work flow, Danny has taken the responsibility of creating job descriptions and job specifications for the newly hired and current engineers within the organization. While doing so, Danny gathers information about the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required for an engineer to successfully perform the job. How will determining the KSAOs most benefit the organization?

KSAOs play a significant role in interviews and selection decisions.

The HR department at a company recently developed and employed a certain test in the selection process for managers. After observing trends within the organization, the HR department concluded that the test was not a valid selection criterion. What most likely led to the observation that the test was not valid?

Managers who performed well on the tests performed poorly in their roles.

Which statement about work flow analysis is true?

Outputs may be tangible or intangible products of the work processes.

Which aspect of recruitment is most likely to affect the nature of the positions that are vacant?

Personnel policies

A middle manager is of the opinion that organizations should empower employees, and suggests this should be done by designing work to be done by self-managing teams. Which statement would validate her argument?

Self-managing work teams may perform duties traditionally handled by management.

Maxine is an HR manager at a large accounting firm. She hires and trains the firm's staff of recruiters. Maxine hires people with an education in human resource management and a warm attitude that displays a positive interest in people. How else should she prepare the recruiters so they have success in this kind of work?

She should equip recruiters with the kinds of information job applicants are seeking.

In the past, hospitals deferred to physicians judgments in how they carried out their work. More recently, hospitals have begun asking surgical teams to use standard presurgical checklists aimed at avoiding miscommunications and oversights. From a job design perspective, why is this aspect of work flow an appropriate one for a hospital to focus on?

Simplifying work is especially beneficial when jobs are challenging and the costs of error are severe.

Alexander is uniquely suited to his job as a retail manager because he is organized, creative, experienced in managing people, and motivated to succeed. According to the Job Characteristics Model, Alexander demonstrates

Skill variety

Which statement about self-managing work teams is true:

Team members usually share work assignments.

A human resource manager at a manufacturing company recommends that the company use the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PA) for conducting job analysis. Which statement best supports this recommendation?

The PAQ considers the whole work process. from inputs through outputs.

Marc determines that his company spent $15,000 to hire three new programmers through employee referrals and another $75,000 to hire five new programmers A through a private employment agency. Which statement is correct about these recruiting efforts?

The cost per hire for referrals was lower, at $5,000 per hire.

A survey of employee satisfaction among a county's 9-14 dispatchers found that employees struggle to keep up with calls, feel little or no control over their situation, and constantly worry about making mistakes. A suggestion is made to simplify the jobs in order to deal with these sources of dissatisfaction. Why would simp ifving the jobs be beneficial in this case?

The costs of emplovee errors are severe.

What is a disadvantage of using temporary and contract workers?

These workers tend to be relatively less committed to the organization.

Which statement about executive search firms is true?

They serve as a buffer, providing confidentiality between an employer and a recruit.

A company is having difficulty filling all its positions for systems analysts. The company's human resource manager suggests introducing a kind of personnel policy known as a due-process policy. How is that most likely to help with recruitment?

This policy implies greater job security and concern for employees.

What is true of validity?

Validity ensures the fairness of employment practices during selection procedures.

According to the Job Characteristics Model _____ reflects the degree to which a job allows an individual to make decisions about the way the work is carried out.

autonomy

_______ states that if there is no specific employment contract saying otherwise, the employer or employee may end an employment relationship at any time, regardless of cause.

employment at will

Windy City is a company that makes wind turbines. The business owner. Mindy. is struggling to compete. Finding enough employees who know how to do the work has been difficult, and Mindy believes that her labor costs are too high because she cannot afford to match the prices of her nearest competitors. To help with these problems, Mindy hires a new HR manager, Ella. Ella recommends they start by bringing in an industrial engineer. How is this approach to job design most likely to held windy City?

by simplifying work and Increasing output per worker

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

criterion-related validity

Elliot and Misha are planning an e-commerce company for business and leisure travelers. They want to be sure that all the employees have a wide scope ot decision-making authority. Which kind of organizational structure is most appropriate for this kind of work?

divisions focused on customer groups

______ formally lay out the steps employees may take to appeal an employer's decision to terminate them.

due process policies

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

employees with a core competency.

Marta is a recruiter with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She is well respected among her peers for her professional standards and understanding of the HR field. However, she has noticed that when she recruits engineers for her company, they sometimes seem unresponsive to her. According to some studies discussed in the text, this is happening because Marta

is perceived as less credible because she is an HR specialist.

Korrine is a line manager at Nortex Inc. She is assigned the task of understanding and gathering detailed information about the requirements of carrying out a certain job. Information gathered by Korrine will be used to provide essential knowledge for staffing, training, performance appraisal, and other HR activities. What most likely corresponds to the task undertaken by Korrine?

job analysis

What model that was developed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham to describe ways to make jobs more motivating?

job characteristics model

A list of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities that a job entails is called a

job description

Which of these is an internal source of recruitment?

job postings on a bulletin board

In the context of forecasting the demand for labor, using trend analysis, inventory levels, changes in technology, and actions of competitors are examples of

leading indicators

According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, which factor would motivate individuals the most?

meaningfulness of a job

A manufacturer has entered into a contract with a third party to perform services related to processing orders, managing inventory levels, and shipping products to customers. The company is engaged in

outsourcing

A small company that manufactures special-order wood furniture has kept its employees busy on a 40-hours-a-week schedule for the past two years. The company just received a large contract from a Chinese company that is opening offices in the area. The Chinese company has given a month's time for completion of its order. To complete the contract in the required one month, the furniture company needs additional skilled labor on short notice. Which strategy might the company use if it wants to avoid this short-term labor shortage while finding a simple and cost-effective solution?

overtime

An entrepreneur wants to hire a human resource professional who can help her make decisions about who will or will not be allowed to join her organization. In advertising for this professional, what term should she use to describe the process she wants helo with?

personnel selection

A consulting firm equips all of its employees with laptop computers, which they use at their desks and carry to client meetings. What ergonomic challenge is most likely to result from employees using these devices throughout the day?

physical strain to wrists from improper positioning for typing

The structure of Eduardo Hospital is strongly based on function. Which statement best describes staff positions at this hospital?

positions are highly specialized

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.

A national appliance manufacturer 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 compare between the two factors. Which method of research is exemplified in this scenario?

predictive validation

Violet wants to apply for a job vacancy. She calls the recruiter who advertised this vacancy to learn more about the job. The recruiter gives some background information about the positive and negative qualities of the job to Violet. Which term refers to the job information given by the recruiter?

realistic job preview

_______ influence the kinds of job applicants an organization reaches.

recruitment sources

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

Herzberg identified five factors he associated with motivating jobs. Which of these was one of the factors?

responsibility

Egypt is an HR executive looking for a new job. She comes across an advertisement in a newspaper seeking applications for the position of an HR manager. The advertisement exclusively highlights requirements such as strong communications skills, excellent teamwork abilities, and leadership skills. These requirements constitute the job

specification

The industrial engineering approach to job design is most likely to emphasize

streamlining jobs to make them simpler and more efficient

To gather information about worker requirements. the Fleishman Job Analysis System typically ______ to evaluate a job in terms of the abilities required to perform the job.

subject-matter experts

Which arrangement would qualify as job rotation?

support staff being trained in front-office functions through periods of alternating work arrangements

Implementation of an HR strategy that ties planning and recruiting to an organization's strategy and to its efforts to develop employees becomes a complete program of

talent management

a sonvere consuminentit uses a standarized too angivsis questonn dire containing 194 questions about work behaviors, work conditions. and iot characteristics that apply to a wide variety of jobs. In this scenario. the firm is using

the Position Analvsis Questionnaire

A company applies research into physics and biochemistry to create advanced surgical instruments and implants. Its research department attracts some of the most talented professionals in these disciplines, each with a passion for his or her specialty. Next year, the position of vice president of research will be vacant, so the executive team is working with the HR department to define selection criteria for a new vice president. Given the company's structure, which quality will be important for the new vice president to possess?

the ability to align researchers' work with the company's strategy

Karly wants to set up a manufacturing unit, so she meets with Samantha, a human resource manager at her company. Samantha 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 Karly 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

A chart that lists job categories held in one period and shows the proportion of employees in each of those categories in a future period is called a

transitional matrix

The employees at a website design company have been struggling to provide quality services to clients. An investigation reveals that employees feel dissatisfied and mentally fatigued due to the challenging nature of their jobs. The HR manager suggests simplifying jobs in order to reduce errors and increase accuracy. Which option would be a way to simplify the mental demands of employees' jobs?

using software that helps with tracking the progress of assignments

The extent to which a selection method provides economic value greater than its cost is called its

utility

Along with 50 other candidates, Quinn applied for the position of analyst at a company. Because Quinn's profile stood out from other candidates' profiles, she was called for an interview in which she performed well. In the context of the steps involved in the selection process for recruitment, which step would most likely be taken next by the recruiter?

verifying Quinn's qualifications through background checks

Reliability answers the important question of

whether you are measuring something accurately.

Which process involves analyzing the tasks necessary for the production of a product or service?

work flow design

Which HR activity is similar to analyzing a job that does not yet exist?

work redesign