Chapter 5

________ 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. A. Employment at will B. Employment flexibility C. Due-process policy D. Rule of law E. Rule of fair treatment

A. Employment at will

Which statement regarding job performance tests is true?

Applicants feel they are fair.

What is an element in the final stage of human resources planning? A. strategic planning B. evaluating outcomes C. estimating labor surplus or shortage D. estimating labor demand E. forecasting labor supply

B. evaluating outcomes

Which of the following is an internal source of recruitment? A. employee referrals B. job postings C. direct applicants D. personal interviews E. employment agencies

B. job postings

In the context of managing human resources, the process of ________ creates a buffer between planning and the actual selection of new employees. A. outsourcing B. inducting C. evaluating D. recruiting E. training

D. recruiting

What is a requirement under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986?

Employers must verify and maintain records on the legal rights of applicants to work in the United States.

An organization that uses only external recruitment can wind up with a workforce whose members all think alike and therefore may be poorly suited to innovation.

False

In human resource planning, forecasting is an intermediary step.

False

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

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

Which statement regarding internal recruitment sources is true?

Internal recruiting minimizes the possibility of unrealistic employee expectations.

Nguyen wants to build a start-up company with a small number of people working for him. He decides to do all the hiring himself. Lane, a friend of Nguyen's who is a lawyer, warns him about the risk of discrimination complaints he could receive from applicants who are not hired. Which statement best expresses the basis of Lane's concern about avoiding discrimination?

Interviews are subjective, so they have the potential of assessing candidates based on questions not related to the job.

A human resource manager at an electronics firm observes that many employees who are reaching the traditional retirement age are not interested in leaving the organization. Which statement best explains the reason for this trend among older employees?

Jobs are becoming less physically demanding.

A software company is putting together a new team to work on the marketing strategies for its expansion project. In the context of using the "Big Five" personality traits for effective team building, which employees would be good additions to a team that encourages a strong and harmonious culture and is most likely to give the best results?

Kandy is very organized; Alia is very cooperative.

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.

A company is automating processes so it can meet its demand with a smaller workforce. The CEO asks Nancy, the vice president of human resources, for advice on how to address the resulting labor surplus. Nancy studies the workforce and observes that many employees are in their 50s and 60s. Furthermore, these employees are the highest-paid workers in every job category. Based on this information, what should Nancy suggest as the most effective way of addressing the company's labor surplus?

Offer early retirement incentives to the employees in their 50s and 60s.

What is the difference between predictive validation and concurrent validation?

Predictive validation correlates future job performance and applicant test scores; concurrent validation does not.

An investment bank is in the final stage of its selection process for a business analyst. Morris is one of the candidates for the position. As part of background checks, the bank wants to look at his credit history. Which Act requires them to obtain Morris' consent before using a third party to check his credit history?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

A strategic approach to selection requires ways to measure the effectiveness of selection tools. What is a basic standard for this?

The method offers practical value.

Contracting with another organization to perform a broad set of services is called outsourcing.

True

Downsizing can be used to reduce surplus labor because it yields fast results.

True

In general, all companies have to make decisions in three areas of recruiting: personnel policies, recruitment sources, and the characteristics and behavior of the recruiter.

True

Many of the people reading classified ads are either over- or under-qualified for the position.

True

The goals an organization sets in its human resource planning process should come directly from the analysis of its labor supply and demand.

True

The steps in a workforce utilization review are identical to the steps in the HR planning process.

True

What is true of validity?

Validity ensures the fairness of employment practices during selection procedures.

Hideko is an HR manager at a software company. They want to establish the validity of a test designed for computer technicians using a predictive validation strategy. Accordingly, Hideko must administer the test to

all people applying for computer technician jobs at the company.

For what purpose do organizations typically review applicant résumés?

as a basis for deciding which candidates to investigate further

During interviews for medical assistants at the mental health center, all the candidates are asked to talk about a time in the past when they had to empathize with an emotionally unstable person and help that person make rational decisions. This was to test whether the candidates would be able to assist frantic patients and help them make informed decisions. This is known as a(n) __________ interview.

behavior description

To test the validity of a selection test for advanced widget designers, a company administers the test to its current widget designers. The test results are then compared with existing measures of job performance. In this instance, what type of validation is being used by the company?

concurrent validation

For tests that measure abstract qualities such as intelligence or leadership skills, validity would best be established by __________ validation.

construct

Information that measures the degree to which two sets of numbers are related are known as

correlation coefficients

If a person who is a reference gives negative information about a job candidate, there is a chance the candidate will claim __________, meaning the person damaged the applicant's reputation by making statements that cannot be proved truthful.

defamation

Tari is a human resource manager at a software company. She receives a call from an HR manager at another software company asking about Misha, a software engineer who used to work at the company and has applied for a job at the caller's company. Tari checks the company's records and sees that a co-worker had accused Misha of racial discrimination, but an investigation did not turn up any evidence to support the charge. Misha left the company two months later, saying she was no longer comfortable there. Tari is concerned about sharing the details of this situation with the caller. If telling the information to the caller leads to the other company not hiring Misha, what potentially unlawful behavior could Misha accuse the company of engaging in?

defamation

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

Lana is filling out an application form for the position of an elementary school teacher. While she is filling it out, she comes across a section that asks for information about her high school and college courses and grades. Which section of the application form is being referred to here?

educational background

Which of these is a "Big Five" personality trait?

extroversion

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

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.

What is a limitation of cognitive ability tests?

legal issues related to administering the tests

What does a correlation of 0 mean?

no correlation

A __________ interview generally includes open-ended questions about the candidate's strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and work experience, but they do not have great reliability.

nondirective

Charry was pretty sure she wanted to work at Hogs Foot Brewery after she read the ad for an open position and researched the company. She concluded she was enough of a fit with the vacant position to warrant submitting an application. This process is termed

self-selection

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

utility

Which of the following best describes a phased-retirement program? A. It refers to offering alternative work locations and work responsibilities to older employees. B. It refers to reducing both the number of hours older employees work as well as the cost of these employees. C. It refers to laying off older employees in small batches. D. It refers to giving lucrative incentives to a large number of older employees to voluntarily retire. E. It refers to giving older employees a certain time limit to voluntarily retire.

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

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 employees is referred to as A. a workforce utilization review. B. job posting. C. direct sourcing. D. employment referral. E. external hiring.

B. job posting.

Big City Grocers, an international company, opens a store in a town predominantly populated by a particular racial group. While recruiting employees for the store, it uses a test in the selection process that favors that same racial group. When questioned about the selection procedure, the management reasons that the customers are more comfortable with employees of their own race. In the context of the legal standards of selection, what is an accurate statement?

Big City Grocers' actions during the selection process violate the Civil Rights Act of 1991 because customer preference is not a justifiable reason for discriminatory practices.

Most direct applicants to an organization have done some research and concluded there is enough fit between themselves and the vacant position to warrant submitting an application. This process is termed A. employment at will. B. employee referral. C. nepotism. D. self-selection. E. internal recruitment.

D. self-selection.

The second step in human resource planning is A. forecasting labor surplus. B. forecasting labor shortage. C. program implementation and evaluation. D. program goal setting. E. goal setting and strategic planning.

E. goal setting and strategic planning.

Which aspect of recruitment is most likely to affect the nature of the positions that are vacant? A. recruitment sources B. recruiter traits C. applicant characteristics D. recruiter behavior E. personnel policies

E. personnel policies

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 A. Forecast. B. trend analysis. C. leading indicator. D. labor review. E. transitional matrix.

E. transitional matrix.

The most widespread methods for eliminating labor shortages are reducing work hours and endorsing early retirement programs.

False

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 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.

Which statement about referrals is true?

The use of referrals can contribute to nepotism.

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.

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

What is the first step in the human resource planning process? A. forecasting B. goal setting C. program implementation D. performance evaluation E. program evaluation

A. forecasting

Which statement best describes outsourcing? A. It refers to using a temporary or contract employee to fill a single job vacancy. B. It refers to contracting with another organization to perform a broad set of services. C. It refers to moving operations away from the home location to decrease cost savings. D. It refers to finding cheap resources in another country to gain a competitive advantage. E. It refers to buying the necessary raw materials needed to conduct business from external suppliers.

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

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.

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

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

reliability

Bishop Corp. is eliminating most of its desktop computer repair centers in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the demand for mobile device repair—a service it provides in Florida and New Jersey—is growing rapidly. An HR manager at the company's headquarters must plan to avoid a labor surplus in Minnesota in a fast and effective way. She wishes to do so with the least possible employee suffering in terms of layoffs and salary. Which strategy would best help her accomplish her goal?

transfers

Evie is preparing for a 5 percent increase in production at her company next year. She needs to determine the current number and categories of production employees and how this is likely to change by the end of the year so she can staff for the increased production needs. To help with this analysis, Evie should use a

transitional matrix.

What is a step a downsized company can take to counter negative employee emotions?

Build confidence in the company's plans for a stronger future.

In the context of recruitment sources, private employment agencies serve primarily blue-collar workers, while public employment agencies mostly serve white-collar workers.

False

Research suggests that realistic job previews have a strong and consistent effect on employee turnover.

False

To ensure success with an outsourcing strategy, companies should outsource work that requires tight security.

False

The second step in human resource planning is performance evaluation.

False

________ formally lay out the steps an employee may take to appeal an employer's decision to terminate that employee. A. Trend analyses B. Leading indicators C. Employment-at-will contracts D. Transitional matrices E. Due-process policies

E. Due-process policies

What is true of companies that use a "lead-the-market" pay strategy?

They pay more than the current market wages for a job.

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.

A selection method that is valid in other contexts beyond the context for which it was developed is known as a(n) __________ method.

generalizable

A production manager is expecting a labor shortage for a short period of time. He would like to avoid it with a strategy that can be easily eliminated in the future when there is optimal labor available for work. Which option for avoiding a labor shortage would be the right solution for this manager?

hiring temporary employees

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

Sully conducts an interview with Mason for a job as regional sales manager. During the course of the interview, she has Mason take a written test that assesses Mason's integrity by asking him about his attitude toward shoplifting and his own experiences with shoplifting, if any. Which test is Sully conducting?

paper-and-pencil honesty test

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 help with?

personnel selection

While applying for the position of administrative assistant, a candidate was asked to provide the name and phone number of her previous supervisor. She was also provided the alternative of presenting a letter from her previous supervisor vouching for her performance on the job. Which tool used in the initial selection process is illustrated in this case?

refernces

A middle manager wants to find out how many candidates moved from the initial interview stage to the training selection stage in the past month. To find out, she needs to compare the

yield ratios

People who apply for a vacancy without prompting from an organization are referred to as A. internal applicants. B. natural applicants. C. direct applicants. D. neutral applicants. E. referred applicants.

C. direct applicants.