Human Resource Management Final Exam

What is the normal retirement age for employees in the United States to receive maximum Social Security benefits?

67

Which of the following best describes workers' compensation?

A benefit program provided to workers injured on the job

In the context of graphic rating scales, which of the following is a behavioral dimension?

Communication effectiveness

The right of employers to terminate employees whose pay is subject to a single garnishment order is restricted by the _____.

Consumer Credit Protection Act

Which of the following is a voluntary employee benefit that employers may provide in addition to legally required benefits?

Education assistance

Which of the following is most likely to make managers more responsive toward employees?

Employee ratings of managers

Which of the following is a metric of sales programs in variable pay plans?

Increase in market share

_____ is defined as a step-by-step process to ensure that the right learning materials are provided to the right people at the right time.

Instructional systems design

Most federal and state entities rely on the criteria for independent contractor status identified by the _____.

Internal Revenue Service

Which of the following is true about on-the-job training (OJT)?

It can disrupt regular work in an organization.

Which of the following is a purpose of an application form?

It is a basic employee record for applicants who are hired.

In the context of health care legislations, which of the following is true of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

It prohibits group insurance plans from dropping coverage for a sick employee.

Which of the following statements is true about e-learning?

It provides better access to more employees than does conventional training.

Which of the following statements is true of the Family and Medical Leave Act?

It requires employers to allow eligible employees to take a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during any 12-month period for foster care placement of a child.

Team Spark LLC, a producer of consumer goods, used to practice gainsharing. After organizational restructuring, the management decide s to replace its gainsharing plans with a piece-rate system. Which of the following is true of Team Spark LLC?

It used to provide team incentives , but now it provides individual incentives.

_____ typically consists of approaches that monitor and reduce medical costs through restrictions and market system alternatives.

Managed care

Which of the following statements is true of part-time employees?

Many employers in the United States do not provide any part-time employee benefits, except some paid time off.

Why do a relatively low percentage of men take paternity leave?

Men have a perception that it is not considered socially acceptable for them to stay home for child-related reasons.

Which of the following is typical of the performance philosophy of compensation?

No raises for poorly performing employees

Which of the following statements is true of training?

Nonexempt employees who are training outside normal working hours must be compensated for their time.

Which of the following statements is true of objective and subjective measures of performance appraisals?

Objective measures can be observed, and subjective measures require judgment on the part of the evaluator.

Which of the following is typical of the entitlement philosophy of compensation?

Pay and raises based on length of service

_____ is especially useful when supervisors do not have the opportunity to observe each employee's performance.

Peer rating

Which of the following is true of performance appraisal?

Performance appraisal is the process of determining how well employees do their jobs relative to a standard and communicating that information to them.

In the context of worker motivation, which of the following is classified as an outcome in equity theory?

Praise

_____ measure dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and arm-hand steadiness.

Psychomotor tests

In the context of graphic rating scales, which of the following belongs to the descriptive category?

Quantity of work

Which of the following should be included in the job details section of an employment offer letter?

Reporting relationships

Which of the following is the most accurate metric of organizational performance in variable pay plans?

Revenue growth

In the context of performance information, which of the following is an example of results-based information?

Sales volume

Which of the following occurs when interviewers favor or select people whom they believe to be like themselves on the basis of a variety of personal factors?

Similarity bias

In the context of performance information, which of the following is an example of trait-based information?

Teamwork

Which of the following statements is true of a discretionary system of determining bonuses?

The CEO and the board of directors decide the bonuses.

A company that has been providing generous defined benefit pension plans to all its retirees for the past 50 years is now facing bankruptcy and is unable to pay the pension amount. Which of the following statements is true in the given scenario?

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation will pay the company's retiree benefits from its solvency fund.

Which of the following is included in the narrative method of performance appraisals?

The critical incident method

Which of the following is true of an employer who uses the first-quartile strategy of compensation?

The employer pays the employees below market levels.

Which of the following is true of an employer who uses the second-quartile strategy of compensation?

The employer pays the employees on par with the market levels.

Which of the following is a comparative method of performance appraisals?

The forced distribution method

Which of the following occurs when an interviewer allows a positive characteristic about a job applicant to overshadow other evidence?

The halo effect

Which of the following statements is true of the salary-only approach?

The salary-only approach is useful when an organization emphasizes serving and retaining existing accounts.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using comparative methods for performance appraisal?

These methods reduce the level of cooperation and citizenship within the organization.

What is the main purpose of pre-employment screening?

To determine if applicants meet the minimum qualifications for job openings

_____ provides employees with specific, identifiable knowledge and skills for use in their present jobs.

Training

In the context of the types of benefits offered by employers, which of the following is a voluntary benefit?

Wellness programs

Sanjay, the new HR Manager at Charlemagne Tools Inc., examines the application form that the company has been using for the last two years. According to the guidelines set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various court decisions, which of the following is an illegal question on the application form?

Whom should we contact in case of emergency?

Once training requirements have been identified using needs analyses, training objectives and priorities can be established by conducting _____.

a gap analysis

In the context of training, self-efficacy refers to:

a person's belief that he or she can successfully learn the training program content.

The purpose of _____ is to provide potential employees with an accurate introduction to a job so that they can better evaluate the employment situation.

a realistic job preview

In a structured interview, _____.

a set of prepared job-related questions are asked of all job applicants

At Plantsman's Eden Nursery, new workers are trained in the proper techniques of planting rooted cuttings. As part of the training, after being given basic instructions regarding planting, each worker is given 10 seedlings to plant. Their planting techniques are then evaluated by the trainer. In the context of instructional strategies, this scenario best exemplifies _____.

active practice

A situation in which only higher-risk employees select and use certain benefits under a flexible benefits plan provided by employers is referred to as _____.

adverse selection

A flexible benefits plan typically _____.

allows employees to select the benefits they prefer from options established by the employer

A(n) _____ is a selection process composed of a series of evaluative tests during which candidates are evaluated by multiple raters.

assessment center

When using _____ to evaluate training, HR professionals gather data on training in their organization and compare them with data on training at other organizations of similar size in their industry.

benchmarking

Kenneth is a Programmer in the customer service department in Kynol Inc. When his father dies, he applies for a leave. In this scenario, Kenneth is most likely to have applied for a _____.

bereavement leave

A learning approach that combines short, fast-paced, interactive computer-based lessons and teleconferencing with traditional classroom instruction and simulation is called _____.

blended learning

The _____ occurs when a rater gives all employees a score within a narrow range in the middle of the scale.

central tendency error

Mario, a recent college graduate, applied for a job with a firm that provides security to high-profile individuals. During the selection process, he was given a test for visual memory. Tests such as these are best classified as:

cognitive ability tests.

In a _____, an employer makes financial contributions to help employees cover their health-related expenses.

consumer-driven health plan

The _____ is the tendency to rate people relative to others rather than against performance standards.

contrast error

Samuel works for a company that provides health care benefits to all its insured employees. However, every time Samuel visits a physician, he is required to pay a fixed amount of $20 from his own pocket, whereas the rest of the amount is covered by the medical insurance. The $20 that Samuel has to pay is an example of a(n) _____.

copayment

A _____ is a retirement program in which employees are promised a pension amount based on age and years of service.

defined benefit plan

A problem with the pre-/post-measure of training evaluation is _____.

determining if the training was responsible for any changes in performance

Organizations must continually train their employees because:

employees' productivity decreases with time.

Stock option plans give employees the right to purchase a(n) _____.

fixed number of shares of company stock at a specified exercise price for a limited period of time

The _____ allows the rater to mark an employee's performance on a continuum indicating low to high levels of a particular characteristic.

graphic rating scale

The _____ occurs when a rater scores an employee high on all job criteria because of performance in one area of the assigned work responsibilities.

halo effect

The _____ occurs when a low rating on one characteristic leads to an overall low rating.

horns effect

A group of supervisors from an oil corporation in the United States attend a class every Thursday afternoon to learn Spanish. The supervisors learn by repeating Spanish words and phrases while the instructor corrects their pronunciation. After each correction, the supervisors repeat the word or phrase with the correct pronunciation before focusing on the next word. In the context of instructional strategies, this scenario is most likely an example of _____.

immediate confirmation

In defined contribution plans, _____.

investment risks are borne by employees

Unlike concurrent validity, predictive validity:

involves comparing applicants' test results with their subsequent job performance.

For employers, an advantage of cross-training employees is that:

it offers more flexibility in assigning workers to tasks.

A(n) _____ is defined as a work environment that encourages employees to share their individual knowledge, skills, and experiences with their coworkers.

learning culture

To qualify as a tax preparer for a seasonal job at a tax preparation company, Martin must answer questions on tax terminology covered in the web-based training course provided by the company. This evaluation best exemplifies a _____ measure of training evaluation.

learning-level

The _____ occurs when ratings of all employees fall at the high end of the scale.

leniency error

Kent and Julie are recruiters for Sunspree Inc. When both of them interview the same applicant, they often find that they have different opinions about the applicant's potential as a future high performer in the organization. Given this information, it can be said that Kent and Julie have _____.

low inter-rater reliability

Grouping jobs into pay grades based on similar market survey amounts is known as _____.

market banding

The relationship between job value as determined by job evaluation points and job value as determined by pay survey rates is shown by a _____.

market line

Placement of people in an organization can be seen primarily as a(n) _____.

matching process

According to a 1986 amendment to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), _____.

most employees cannot be forced to retire at a specific age

Chinn has been a bus driver for a tour bus company for the past 15 years and has an excellent driving record. He had a back injury last year for which he is still undergoing treatment. If Chinn has an accident while driving one of the tour buses because of the effects of his medication and passengers are injured in the accident, the company will most likely be liable for _____.

negligent retention

A panel of division managers evaluating a supervisor's potential for advancement in the organization is an example of _____.

outsider ratings

Scenic River had an opening for the position of City Manager. This opening attracted many applicants from all over the city. As part of the selection process, each applicant appeared one after another for the interview before the entire Scenic River Board. This best exemplifies a _____.

panel interview

Groupings of individual jobs that have approximately the same value to the organization, used when establishing a pay structure, are called _____.

pay grades

Compa-ratio = _____.

pay level divided by the midpoint of the pay range

A collection of data on compensation rates for workers performing similar jobs in other organizations is known as a _____.

pay survey

Medicare is the health insurance program that was implemented by the U.S. government in 1965 to provide medical care primarily for _____.

people over the age of 65

Special benefits—usually noncash items—for executives are termed _____.

perquisites

The ultimate purpose of selection is _____, or fitting a person to the right job.

placement

A(n) _____ is a mechanical device that measures a person's galvanic skin response, heart rate, and breathing rate.

polygraph

An effective way to determine if a change in performance resulted from training or from other factors is to use a control group combined with _____.

pre- and post-measures

The rate paid for a job by a majority of the employers in the appropriate geographic area determines _____.

prevailing wages

The _____ occurs when a rater gives greater weight to information received first when appraising an individual's performance.

primacy effect

Long-term disability insurance _____.

provides continuing income protection for employees who become disabled and are unable to work

The _____ method lists the individuals being rated from highest to lowest based on their performance levels and relative contributions.

ranking

The process of choosing individuals with the correct qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization is called _____.

selection

A company is most likely to outsource training when:

there is a preference for new ideas and thinking.

Unions view cross-training unfavorably because it:

threatens job jurisdiction.

Active practice occurs when:

trainees perform job-related tasks and duties during training.

A typing test is an example of a _____ test.

work sample