Session 1

A data management company is looking to hire several new candidates who will be responsible for researching current data and cleaning up outdated files within the database. The database clean-up will cover four separate departments within the company, so the new employees will be required to work with the heads of each department. Lydia, the HR Manager, has been asked which type of interview would be most effective for this position. What type of interview should Lydia recommend? A. Panel B. Behavioral C. Patterned D. Stress E. Nondirective

A

All of the statements about the ADEA are true except A. ADEA prohibits discrimination based on age, for individuals 18 and older (so as to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against based on being too young, as well as being too old.) B. ADEA covers private employers with 20 or more employees, state and local governments (including school districts), employment agencies, and labor organizations. C. ADEA does not establish an upper cap, or an age at which it once again becomes legal to discriminate against individuals based on age. D. ADEA is subject to certain exceptions and places certain requirements on employers, particularly with respect to benefit plans, coverages, and early retirement incentives.

A

Although it is very difficult to establish good measures of validity for the interview process, it is possible to make a case for validity if the process has certain characteristics. Which of these processes/attributes contributes the least to enhancing the validity of an interview process? A. The same interviewer conducts every interview for a particular job opening. B. The interview is based on job analysis. C. The interviewer asks questions that provide evidence about important job related skills. D. The information shared and discussed, and collected during the interview relates to a specific job.

A

If you notice a change in a candidate's nonverbal behavior during the interview A. Probe for more information around whatever question the candidate was answering when that change occurred. B. Be familiar with what specific nonverbal communication cues mean (for instances, folded arms indicate aloofness), so you know how to interpret the behavior. C. Without assessing judgment, point out and describe the changed nonverbal behavior, and ask him or her to help you understand what it means. D. Mirror the candidate's nonverbal behavior, to see if he or she continues to display that behavior.

A

In conducting the SWOT analysis, the strengths and weaknesses portion of the analysis is directed A. Internally B. Externally C. Both internally and externally D. Neither internally nor externally

A

One overarching purpose of an HR audit is A. To ascertain how well the HR department- through all its various functional areas- has aligned itself with the organization's strategic objectives. B. To ascertain the degree to which the HR department has complied with all legal requirements and the potential financial exposure associated with existing levels of noncompliance. C. To ascertain the performance of the HR department with respect to the nature and quality of the consultative services it provides to its internal clients. D. To ascertain the degree to which the HR department is poised to meet the current, future, and emerging human capital and talent needs of the organization.

A

Which of the following statements about the nominal group technique is true? A. It constitutes a nonmathematical forecasting technique that draws on insights of subject matter experts. B. It is similar to the Delphi technique in that it affords experts the opportunity to interact with each other. C. It is self-directing, self-governing, and relies on the facilitative abilities of the experts who are participating in the forecasting process. D. It permits and encourages discussion and collaboration throughout the forecasting process.

A

Which of the following statements about trend analysis is true? A. It can provide information that can be helpful in developing a better understanding of business cycles. B. It can become the basis for a number of applications, including forecasting staffing needs. C. It looks at how two variables have changed over time. D. It looks at the relationship between one dependent variable and more than one independent variable.

A

Which of the following statements about values is not true? A. Values are often expressed through terms such as "communication" and "decision-making." B. Values impact behaviors that are exhibited on a day-to-day basis in the workplace. C. Values are the beliefs on which an organization is built. D. Values shape and guide strategic as well as day-to-day decision making.

A

Which of the following terms best describes transactional leaders A. Enforcers B. Coaches C. Captains D. Directors

A

You've been hired as the HR manager of a start-up company that produces a new type of alternative fuel. Which of the following conditions are you least likely to experience in your new role? A. A request to publish an employee handbook B. The need to develop total rewards packages that lead the market C. The need to develop total rewards packages that lag the market D. A high level of excitement and energy

A

You've recently been given feedback that the onboarding process is too cumbersome, time consuming, and overly focused on administrative paperwork. You're focusing on a number of areas where you can streamline and improve this process, including how verification of employees' identity is handled. Which of the following would be an appropriate step to consider? A. When you send offer letters, send new hires a list of acceptable documents that they can bring with them on their first day of work to establish identity and eligibility to work. B. Instead of having new hires prepare their I-9s on their first day of employment, ask them to submit all required paperwork in advance. C. Have the newly hired employees complete the entire I-9 form, except for the signature section, to minimize the number of times the I-9 needs to be passed back and forth between HR and the employee. D. Allow employees a full week to present their I-9 documents. In that way, the administrative responsibilities associated with onboarding can be spread out over a longer period of time.

A

Your organization has decided to outsource its payroll function, and you're involved in the process of researching vendors. Which of the following actions would be least valuable to you? A. Find out what each vendor's track record is over a long period of time by speaking with clients from several years ago. B. Find out about each vendor's most recent performance by speaking with recent and/or current clients. C. Find out if each vendor has related experience, and ascertain how recently the vendor gained that experience. D. Find out about each vendor's commitment to quality. Determine how it manifests itself and how it can be measured.

A

A properly conducted job analysis will produce all of the following except A. Job competencies B. Job postings C. Job specifications D. Job description

B

All of the following are elements of Vroom's expectancy theory except A. Instrumentality B. Proclivity C. Valence D. Expectancy

B

All of the following statements are true of weighted employment applications except A. They are intended to facilitate the process of assessing each candidate's qualifications. B. They facilitate and support compliance with EEO guidelines. C. They can be difficult and time consuming to develop and maintain. D. They assign relative weights to different elements of the employment application.

B

An undue hardship is one that does all of the following except A. Creates significant difficulty (enough to disrupt business operations) B. Requires a financial outlay that exceeds 25% of the employee's annual salary C. Changes something about the (essential) nature of the business D. Results in a significant financial outlay

B

EO 11246 requires covered employers to develop and implement an auditing system that periodically measures the effectiveness of its total affirmative action program. This requirement could include all of the following except A. Monitor records of all personnel activity, including referrals, placements, transfers, promotions, terminations, and compensation, at all levels to ensure the nondiscriminatory policy is carried out. B. Require internal reporting on a scheduled basis as to the number of charges of discrimination that have been filed based on race, gender, and veterans status during the length of each AAP and the degree to which equal employment opportunity and organizational objectives are attained. C. Review report results with all levels of management D. Advise top management of program effectiveness and submit recommendations to improve unsatisfactory performance.

B

Effectiveness can be defined as A. A ratio of inputs to outputs B. The degree to which goals are met C. The degree to which goals reflect desired outputs D. A ratio of outputs to inputs.

B

In behavioral leadership theories, the dimension of leadership behavior known as initiating structure refers to A. The interpersonal relationships that managers must first establish with employees before attempting to ensure completion of the actual work. B. What employees need to do, and how they need to do it, in order to attain the objectives. C. The training in which managers need to participate to develop the skills needed to be an effective leader. D. The degree to which an individual demonstrates an innate ability to being an effective leader.

B

It's important for HR professionals to understand the differences and interplay between effectiveness and efficiency. Efficiency is A. The degree to which goals are appropriate B. Doing things right C. Doing the right things D. Impossible to achieve without effectiveness

B

Project managers seek to accomplish their objectives by gaining control over five factors, one of which is A. Regulatory compliance B. Risk C. Reward structures D. Staffing

B

The first step in the scientific method is A. Develop a hypothesis B. Question and observe C. Scan existing secondary research D. Conduct a needs analysis

B

WARN covers which employers? A. Employers with 15 or more employees B. 100 or more full-time employees C. All private employers D. Private employers with 20 or more employees

B

Which of the following is not one of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard? A. The financial perspective B. The external perspective C. The learning and growth perspective D. The business process perspective

B

Which of the following is not one of the six key elements of the HR Code of Ethics? A. Development B. Commitment to Workplace Diversity C. Fairness and Justice D. Use of Information

B

Which of these is not a type of legislation? A. Concurrent resolution B. resolution C. Joint resolution D. resolution

B

A manager with whom you have not previously worked comes to you for help with implementing solutions she has come up with to address a turnover problem in her department. Your first response should be to A. Communicate your commitment to implementing the manager's solution. B. Offer alternative solutions based on experience you have had with similar situations. C. Ask questions to obtain more information about the problems the manager is experiencing. D. Ask questions to obtain information that will help you implement the manager's solution more effectively.

C

A vendor of selection tests has called on the recruiting manager for Maxster Merchandisers, Inc. The vendor is promoting an honesty test which he says is strongly correlated with theft. Maxster has had a long standing problem of employee theft from warehouses. The recruiting manager asks to see some statistics. The vendor say that a high score on the test has a correlation coefficient of___with shoplifting behavior. A. -.2 B. .1 C. .7 D. -.5

C

After you decide that you are going to conduct an employee survey, what is the first step that you should take? A. Select an internal or external consultant B. Determine the methodology C. Secure management buy-in Decide upon survey contentD.

C

An employee seems to be working diligently, but has been continually missing deadlines. After a great deal of coaching and counseling, the employee is ultimately warned that she may experience further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, if she does not bring her performance up to standard. Ultimately this employee starts meeting deadlines- first sporadically, and then on a more consistent basis. The employee is then praised by her supervisor for her performance. This is an example of A. Negative reinforcement B. Positive reinforcement C. Punishment D. Extinction

C

An interviewer truly enjoys interviewing because he feels as though it gives him the opportunity to make a difference in the world by helping individuals who are unemployed find gainful employment. Which of the following four interviewer biases/errors might this interviewer be most likely to experience? A. Compassion B. Urgency C. Leniency D. Recency

C

In the selling quadrant of Hersey Blanchard's situational leadership model, employees A. Have mastered the technical aspects of a particular task and can perform it independently. B. Have shifted their focus from learning a specific task to instructing and/or mentoring others in the organization on how to perform that function. C. Have developed basic skills related to the task and can benefit from additional background and information about the task. D. Need to focus on developing self-confidence in their abilities- selling themselves, in a sense, on their own ability to perform a particular task.

C

McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green, 1979, determined that the initial burden of proof for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination against an employer (or potential employer) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 rests with the employee (or applicant) who must be able to establish four key elements. Which one of these elements is not one of those four elements that the employee must have to establish a prima facie case? A. The person is member of a protected class. B. The person applied for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants. C. The person was rejected, despite being the most qualified for the position. D. After this rejection, the employer continued to seek other applicants with similar qualifications.

C

To what dimension of the organization is Edgard Schein referring when he writes "...a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learns as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." A. Vision B. Mission C. Culture D. Values

C

Which is the least likely reason that an organization might want to settle a charge of discrimination? A. To save money B. To avoid bad press C. To avoid a strike D. Because discrimination might have actually taken place

C

Which of the following statements about focus groups is least true? A. Skillfully facilitated focus groups can generate a great deal of valuable data. B. The synergy of the group dynamics can contribute to a more valuable data collection experience. C. When facilitated by the same individual, participants across multiple focus groups will have had a similar data collection experience. D. Focus groups can provide a qualitative approach to data collection.

C

Which of the following statements about the Civil Rights Act of 1991 is untrue? A. It expanded employees' rights. B. It expanded employees' remedies. C. It capped damages at $500,000 per employee. D. It allowed for jury trials for discrimination cases.

C

All of the following statements about essential job functions are true except A. To be considered essential, a function must be inherently fundamental and necessary to a position. B. To be considered essential, a function must constitute part or all of the reason the job exits. C. The elimination of an essential function would substantially alter the nature of the job. D. They must be identified in the job description.

D

For legal reasons, Seneca Film Productions, Inc., wishes to have a job analysis method that will generate easily quantifiable data and lend itself to validity tests. The company would be best advised to use A. Panel interviews B. Employee logs C. Observation of employees on the job D. The Position Analysis Questionnaire.

D

If a case does proceed to court, HR's role varies significantly depending on a host of factors. HR professionals could conceivably find themselves performing any of the following functions except A. Testifying B. Sitting at the counsel table during the trial C. Collecting data during discovery D. Responding to the complaint

D

In reviewing your organization's most recent affirmative action plan, you notice that there is underutilization of women in a particular job group. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate to take? A. Try to convince women in other job groups to accept transfers into the job group in which there is underutilization. B. If both male and female candidates apply for position openings in the underutilized job group, hire the women. C. Hire the best qualified candidate for the position, whether that person is male or female. D. Reach out to related professional organizations that are likely to have women as members.

D

Mary Ann is the recruiter for a large lighting products company, Northern Lighting, Inc. One of Northern Lighting's divisions supplies lighting for new residential and commercial facilities. Lighting designers for commercial facilities are scarce. Mary Ann and the company managers have decided to hire an individual who has the ability to learn the field. They estimate it will take two years before the new hire will be fully productive. Consequently they are looking for a person who will be with the company for at least four to five years. Mary suggests that they only hire applicants who have been with their previous employer for at least two years, and who have not "job-hopped" in the last ten years. Mary Ann's suggestion is an example of a/an A. KSA B. Element of job performance C. Selection criterion D. Predictor

D

Mary is a pregnant Muslim Malaysian woman with controlled mild diabetes who wears a garment covering her from her head to her feet in conformance to her religion. Mary has a valid visa allowing her to work in the United States, and she is married to an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Mary applied to an airline's flight attendant training program and was denied. On which factor would it be legal to reject Mary from the training program. A. Her diabetes B. Her pregnancy C. Her national origin D. Her clothing

D

Of the following four options, the best way to avoid or minimize the likelihood of a negligent referral claim against the organization is to A. Refuse to provide any employee references B. Provide only titles, dates of employment, and final salary when providing references. C. Outsource the process of providing employee references to a third party. D. Require a signed release form from the employee or former employee before providing a reference.

D

Which case followed a "reasonable person" standard when deciding what constitutes a hostile work environment in sexual harassment cases? A. Taxman v. Board of Education of Piscataway, 1993 B. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 1986 C. . Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, 1993 D. Harris v. Forklift Systems, 1993

D

Which of the following is not a requirement under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)? A. Prohibition against insider trading during pension plan black-out periods. B. Establishment of whistleblower protection in a wide variety of situations for employees who report fraud against shareholders. C. Plan administrators must provide 30-day written notice in advance of blackout periods to individual account plan participants and beneficiaries. D. to disclose whether the company has adopted a companywide code of ethics.

D

A private company works as a contractor for a federal defense agency. As a result of this agreement, many of the contractor employees will be engaging in positions of extreme sensitivity, and the contractor would like to give polygraph tests to employees. What is the federal policy regarding polygraph tests in this situation? A. All contractor employees may be given polygraph tests. B. Federal law makes polygraphs illegal for anyone or any institution but the government to administer. C. The employer may utilize anyone in the company to administer the polygraph. D. Because the contractor does work outside of his or her work with the defense agency, polygraphs are not allowed. E. The polygraph test may be administered only to those who will be working in defense-related jobs.

E

Is there disparate or adverse impact below? If so, where? # Candidates # Hired African American 9 2 White 20 5 Hispanic 5 1 Female 14 4 Male 20 4

Yes Male