Chapter 5

Premiere Software 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.

Erica helped a sales manager place an ad on job boards and hire 5 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

Omar is proud of his team of warm, knowledgeable, and ethical recruiters at Luvya Insurance. They practice their presentations to be sure they give realistic job previews, and they keep up-to-date on the company's policy so they can provide applicants with accurate answers to a host of questions. However, over the past year, Omar observes that the proportion of applicants who accept offers from Luvya 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 Luvya. Which of the following situations most likely explains this problem?

Candidates are not getting timely feedback about their applications.

Joe is the CEO of TexTel Inc., a company has a team-oriented culture in which people perform as groups and complete short-term projects to earn revenue. After studying his company's structure, Joe feels TexTel's current processes are inefficient. As a result, Joe 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.

Errol, a manager at a large holiday decoration 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 of the following strategies would be the best option to help Errol avoid a labor shortage?

Errol should hire temporary employees because he can let them go once the holiday season is over.

Gordon, a supervisor at AutoMate Inc., realizes that a couple of months from now, he might experience a labor shortage for approximately two weeks due to increased demand for the company's products. Which of the following options would be best for dealing with this labor shortage?

Gordon should encourage employee overtime because it helps to increase productivity for a short period of time.

El Eram Inc. is automating processes so the company can meet its demand with a smaller workforce. The CEO asks Monica, the vice president of human resources, for advice on how to address the resulting labor surplus. Monica 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 Monica suggest as the most effective way of addressing El Eram's labor surplus?

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

Yienze 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, which of the following would be the best way for Yienze 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.

Xavier determines that his company spent $15,000 to hire 3 new programmers through employee referrals and another $75,000 to hire 5 new programmers through a private employment agency. Which of the following statements is correct about these recruiting efforts?

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

Which of the following is a step a downsized company can take to counter negative employee emotions?

build confidence in the company's plans for a stronger future

Gilbert, an HR manager at MaxNet Inc., hires 50 employees in five months. He has 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, Gilbert should determine the _____.

cost per hire

Steve, the CEO at Winsfeld 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 Winsfeld's competitive standing. In this scenario, Steve will most likely be hiring

employees with a core competency.

Berzen Inc. hires John 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 John is based on the _____.

employment-at-will policy

Carmella, an HR manager at Crexion 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

Janet, an HR manager at SensNet Inc., hires employees who provide a specific set of knowledge and skills that will give her company advantage over its competitors. In the context of strategic planning, Janet is

hiring individuals with a core competency.

Britt, a production manager at Frelix Inc., 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 of the following options for avoiding a labor shortage would be the right solution for Britt?

hiring temporary employees

In order to cultivate a favorable picture of the organization, Rhodes Group, a financial services corporation, advertises itself to potential applicants by using the slogan, "Investing in you no matter what road you take." This scenario is an example of _____ advertising.

image

Zoe 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 your text, the most likely reason for this is because Zoe

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

Nicole, 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 of the following statements best explains the reason for this trend among older employees?

jobs are becoming less physically demanding

Brendan and Angela are HR managers at Seattle Investments. They are expecting a labor surplus over the next two years resulting in the organization having 24 more employees than required. Typically, two employees leave the organization each month. Which of the following HR strategies should Brendan and Angela consider, taking into account the length of time they have available?

natural attrition

Margaret, the HR manager at Frexotel Inc., recruits her cousin Linda as production manager in the company. This move results in resentment among several of the company's employees. By hiring her cousin, Margaret has engaged in the practice of hiring relatives, or _____.

nepotism

Grexel Tools applies its in-depth understanding of the challenges facing manufacturers to design and build custom machine tools that are highly valued by business customers. To maintain its competitive advantage, Grexel also wants to avoid spending more than is necessary on administrative activities such as managing employee benefits. What would be the most effective way for Grexel to minimize administrative expenses without sacrificing quality?

outsourcing administrative work to an organization that specializes in these services

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 Japanese company that is opening offices in the area. The Japanese 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 of the following strategies might the company use if it wants to avoid this short-term labor shortage while finding a simple and cost-effective solution?

overtime

Nazir, an HR manager at Solomon Beverages, identifies and attracts potential job seekers to his organization. In the context of HRM functions, Nazir is carrying out the _____ process.

recruiting

Steve applies for a job at Texel Inc. because his friend Dan, who is a manager there, prompts him to do so. In this scenario, Steve is a(n) _____.

referral

Renton Inc. is phasing out its desktop computer repair center in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the demand for repair of mobile devices—services it provides in Georgia and New Mexico—is growing rapidly. Betty, a human resource specialist at Renton headquarters in Atlanta, must plan to avoid a labor surplus in Wisconsin in a fast and effective way. She wishes to do so with minimal employee suffering in terms of layoffs and salary. Which of the following strategies would best help Betty accomplish her goal?

transfers

James is the HR manager at Flenzel Inc., which is preparing for the launch of a new product line. The company needs to know how many new customer service representatives to add to help customers with questions and concerns about the existing, and new, products. To guide the company, James needs information about the number of employees currently providing customer service, the number likely to be in those jobs next year, and the numbers expected to move to other positions in the organization. The information will be easier to organize and interpret if James uses a(n) _____.

transitional matrix

Ron, an HR manager at Franton Inc., is preparing for a 5 percent increase in the production labor force next year. To do this, he needs to determine what the current number of production employees is and how the number is likely to change by the end of the year. To help with this analysis, Ron should use a _____.

transitional matrix

Solenz Inc. is a relatively new company that employs 23 workers. When it finished a major contract, the owner realized that there wasn't enough work left for all the remaining workers. The company is negotiating contracts that could provide future work in a few months, but it currently must address its labor surplus in order to remain financially sound. Which of the following is the best strategy to deal with this labor surplus?

work sharing

Keri, a trainer at Klemens Inc., plans on finding 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