HR

Marissa, an employee, started a grievance procedure by discussing her issue with her reporting manager. The manager discussed this with a union steward. The issue was not resolved, and it was concluded that the contract with Marissa's employer was violated. Which next step should be taken immediately?

Marissa and the union steward should put the issue in writing and submit it to the line manager.

One of the ways to publish rules that cover disciplinary problems includes

displaying them on a bulletin board.

Kenneth, a manager at Sinchet Co., is performing employee evaluations. Kenneth tends to rate all the employees near the center of the rating scale. As a result, it is difficult to compare employees' scores. Which kind of rating errors has Kenneth made?

distributional error

The engineering manager at Engine AP approaches Marshall, the vice president of human resources, to ask for help with one of the engineers. This employee has management potential but doesn't have much impact because she doesn't speak up confidently in meetings. Marshall suggests finding a coach for the employee. What might a coach be able to do for the employee, besides give her feedback on her speaking style?

help the employee learn to seek feedback from others

The Fair Labor Standards Act permits a lower "training wage," which employers may pay to workers under the age of __________ for a period of up to 90 days.

20

The overtime rate applies to the hours worked beyond __________ in one week.

40

Garrison Inc. has a workforce between the ages of 40 and 55. Most of the employees' children are teenagers who are about to enter college or already are in college. Which family-friendly benefit will be the most beneficial to the employees?

529 savings plans

__________ is a gainsharing program in which employees receive a bonus if the ratio of labor costs to the sales value of production is below a set standard.

A Scanlon plan

Serena, a human resource manager, has been reviewing her company's performance management system to see how it can be improved. She concludes that the system uses valid and reliable methods, but she also wants to make sure it is acceptable to supervisors and employees. Which question would help Serena determine acceptability to employees?

Are the performance measures fair?

Zeke, an employer, received a grievance from Gavin, an employee who was dismissed recently. Zeke rejected Gavin's grievance as he believed that a grievance procedure can only be initiated if an employee is still currently working in his organization. Which statement would prove that Zeke made a faulty decision?

Both an employee as well as a former employee can launch a grievance.

In 2005, several unions broke away from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) to form an alliance called _____, which is focused on innovative organizing campaigns.

Change to Win

__________ refers to the disillusionment and discomfort that occur during the process of adjusting to a new culture.

Culture shock

Which statement expresses a reason why companies are moving away from offering defined-benefit plans and toward defined-contribution plans?

Defined-contribution plans shift investment risk from employers to employees.

The __________ assessment tool is an inventory of behavioral styles based on the work of William Marston, a psychologist who attempted to categorize normal behavior patterns.

DiSC

What is legally required of employee benefits policies?

Disabled employees must have equal health insurance coverage as other employees

After Kendell Corp. hired a new supervisor for the second shift, productivity fell and the shift did not meet its production targets three weeks in a row. The plant manager asks Sam, the human resource manager, to investigate, and he suspects the problem is job withdrawal. Which kind of job withdrawal is most likely occurring in this situation?

Employees are dissatisfied with the supervisor, so they are not working as hard.

In most organizations, only a small fraction of the employees are executives, yet employees and others often consider executive pay when evaluating the equity of a company's pay structure. Which statement is a reason why executive pay draws this attention?

Employees at all levels are affected by executives' actions.

Beef Brothers is planning to open two restaurants in the south of France. What will guide the restaurant chain's HR department when forecasting for the number of people to hire there?

France is strict about protecting workers' jobs, so the company should hire only as many people as it is very likely to need

Which statement is true about a standard hour plan of incentive pay?

If a mechanic completes work in less than the standard time, he receives payment for the full standard time.

John, the CEO of an advertising firm, is very concerned about the performance of his company. He has noticed that productivity is decreasing every day as his company continues to grow. To counter this, John has decided to implement an incentive scheme to motivate his employees to work toward building a better-performing company. Which statement weakens his decision?

In addition to incentives, employees also want interesting work, flexibility, and a sense of belonging to the work group.

What is true of retirement plans?

In cash balance plans, all contributions are made by employers.

Identify the correct statement regarding the National Labor Relations Board.

It can order the employer to reinstate workers, with or without back pay.

Which statement is true about the concept of profit sharing?

It is incentive pay in which payments are a percentage of the organization's profits and do not become part of the employees' base salary.

What is true about personal dispositions?

Job dissatisfaction is higher among employees with low emotional stability.

_________ establishes relative pay among different functions and different levels of responsibility.

Job structure

Both Ken and his cousin, Cole work for two different branches of the same organization. Both have the same level of experience in management. However, Ken earns more than Cole. Which explanation would legally justify the organization's decision to pay Ken more than Cole?

Ken works night shifts, unlike Cole.

The financial statements of Raff Inc. include income statements that detail its earnings and expenses. Accounting requirements include setting aside funds that will be needed to pay for retirement benefits. How does that requirement affect the numbers on the Raff Inc. income statement?

Meeting the requirement lowers the company's reported income.

Which statement is true of different types of unions?

Membership in an industrial union is the result of working for an employer in a particular industry.

__________ is a time off where the employer pools personal days, sick days, and vacation days for employees to use as the need or desire arises.

Paid time off

Brent is a human resource manager at a company reviewing its incentive pay plan. He stresses to his staff that they must continually communicate with employees about the purpose and impact of the review and any changes to the pay plan. Why is communication so important in this situation?

Pay is very important to employees and therefore a subject of rumors.

What statement is true about using peers as a source of performance information?

Peers are more favorable toward participating in reviews to be used for employee development.

Identify a true statement about cross-cultural preparation for an international assignment.

Preparation for departure includes language instruction

Sophie is about to take a 10-week vacation, and she states her reason for the long leave to her manager. According to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which reason will justify the organization's decision to grant unpaid family leave to Sophie?

Sophie has to look after her child who is seriously ill.

Why has the number of work stoppages in the United States plunged since the 1950s?

Strikes and work stoppages are costly to workers and employers.

Brandon is an office manager with a college degree, five years of experience, and a track record of being rated excellent at his work. He supervises seven staff members, and his employer, PRF Inc., pays him $40,000 a year. Which comparison would most likely lead Brandon to conclude that his rate of pay is unfair?

The office manager in another department supervises four employees and earns $45,000.

Which statement is true about the differential piece rate system?

There is a direct link between how much work employees do and the amount they earn.

Which statement is true of transfers?

They are usually lateral moves.

What is a similarity between group bonuses and team awards?

They both encourage members to cooperate so that they can achieve their goals.

Jonah, a human resource professional at an Ohio-based company, is evaluating a candidate for a management position in London. Besides assessing the candidate's interests, personality, and skills, Jonah gives the candidate assignments that focus on cross-cultural training. What is the purpose of these assignments?

They help the candidate to gain an appreciation of the host country's culture.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what is true about individuals who are Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging (known as ISTJs)?

They tend to be serious and practical.

Identify the true statement about performance measures that evaluate individual attributes.

They usually have low validity and reliability.

Troy is an employee at Carding Corp. His manager has offered to provide him with more specific feedback on his performance, as well as restructuring the job to make it easier for Troy to execute his duties. What supports the manager's decision to take these steps?

Troy lacks the skills required to perform his job.

Which statement expresses a common societal concern about unions?

Unions in some industries are so strong that they interfere with employers' ability to compete.

Chuck, a manager at a firm, argues that 360-degree feedback is the best performance measurement as it does not have any flaws. Kayla, another manager at the same firm, argues that the method does have some limitations. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Kayla's argument

When 360-degree feedback is conducted, raters are required to spend a lot of time on it.

What is a measure of customer satisfaction that indicates the success of the staffing activities implemented by the HR department of an organization?

adaptability to changing labor market conditions

Heather is the human resource manager at Auto Specialists. The company's executives want to give employees an ownership stake in the company, so employees will think more like owners, focusing on how they contribute to the organization's success. Which pay system could Heather suggest that would most likely lead to the desired attitude at all levels of the organization?

an employee stock ownership plan

Ryan, a human resource manager, is investigating why the turnover in his company's accounting department has spiked in the last two years. He learns that the company hired a manager whom the employees describe as impatient, judgmental, and unwilling to listen. Ryan discusses this information with the manager, who asks to have a chance to become a better manager. Which approach(es) to employee development should Ryan offer this manager?

assessment, training, and counseling

Arianna, the new human resource manager at MMP Inc., observes that out of twenty-six executive positions at the company, only two are held by women. Arianna decides to investigate what actions she can take to ensure there is not a glass ceiling at MMP Inc. Which action would most likely help meet this objective?

assigning female employees to mentors who will sponsor them for key positions

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is responsible for determining the appropriate _____ and the employees who are eligible to participate in organizing activities.

bargaining unit

IntraCom Corporation is adopting a new human resource information system that uses cloud computing. In which way is cloud computing most likely to affect the work environment for IntraCom's HR staff?

by connecting them to the department all the time, everywhere, via mobile devices

Tutu Designs is a small-scale apparel manufacturing company. Its marketing team is planning to bring about a new line of clothing, and the marketing manager wants to involve employees in generating and evaluating ideas for the new product line. In the context of knowledge sharing, how can Tutu Designs best promote critical thinking?

by encouraging employees to test assumptions and observe results

Tri-Mart dismissed an employee who was caught stealing items from the store's stockroom. In retaliation, the employee is threatening to file a lawsuit claiming race discrimination. Assuming the discipline was based on facts, not bias, how can Tri-Mart best protect itself from being liable for such claims?

by establishing and following a formal discipline policy, so discipline is fair

Athaliah, a human resource manager, is helping her company develop into more of a high-performance work system. She suggests that executives start sharing information about the company's financial performance with its employees. How would this effort most directly support the goal of becoming a high-performance work system?

by increasing employee empowerment and job satisfaction

A leading IT firm conducts an HRM audit. It identifies two key measures for customer satisfaction as its employees' satisfaction with pay and the competitiveness of pay provided in the local market. Which activity is the firm most likely trying to measure with such indicators?

compensation

Which type of plan is intended to provide health coverage in a way that gets employees involved as consumers making decisions to lower costs?

consumer-driven health plan (CDHP)

The management of Log Cabin Inc. allows employees to participate in decision making, maintains transparency of certain business information, and encourages the development of self-managed teams. In this scenario, what is Log Cabin implementing?

cooperation

Bob, the owner of a fast expanding start-up, wants to match performance criteria to the ways the managers contribute to goal achievement. He decides to do this by awarding his managers incentive pay based on a set of performance measures associated with his company's long-term and short-term goals. In order to do this, Bob should

create a balanced scorecard

What is the first step in the career management process?

data gathering

Justin, who is leaving his job at Cabot Inc., is in a meeting with his supervisor and a member from the human resources department to explain why he is leaving. In this case, which procedure is the HR department conducting with Justin?

exit interview

Ted is a senior employee at an IT firm. The top management of the firm permits him to take up a full-time temporary position at another organization that would help him hone his skills. This is an example of a(n)

externship.

As part of negotiating a new labor agreement, the union and management representatives of a police department are preparing to review and consider revising the grievance procedure. Which measure of the procedure's success would likely be the most important to the department's employees?

fairness of the process

The approaches to employee development fall into four broad categories, which are

formal education, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships.

Fruger Co. is an organization that has facilities located in five different countries and treats cultural differences as an advantage. They have different departments headquartered in each country to facilitate efficient and flexible production of their merchandise. This would imply that Fruger Co.

global organization.

All of the following are factors expatriates say are the most important when selecting candidates for international assignments EXCEPT

having a sense of adventure

Development implies learning that

is not necessarily related to the employee's current job.

In the context of employee development, __________ refers to the combination of relationships, problems, demands, tasks, and other features of an employee's jobs

job experience

Charlotte works as a teacher in a primary school. Although her pay is low, she finds that her job keeps her happy and feeling personally fulfilled. In this scenario, what is Charlotte experiencing?

job satisfaction

Frack Corp. is a construction firm based in Delaware. It sets pay rates for women slightly below those for men, to account for the greater likelihood that its female employees will need more time off to care for family members. In this scenario, which law is the company likely to be violating?

laws governing equal employment opportunity

What is a cost associated with voluntary turnover?

loss of talented employees

At the Blue Restaurants Corporation, an employee survey reports that efforts to increase worker satisfaction by redesigning jobs led to greater job satisfaction. The human resource department also measured lower rates of absenteeism and employee turnover. What will be the most likely impact of these trends on the profits of Blue Restaurants?

lower costs, leading to higher profits

The organizing process begins when union representatives

make contact with employees and present their message about the union.

What is a condition that underlies the formation of a high-performance work system?

ongoing training is emphasized and rewarded

The ways employees respond to their impressions about equity can have a great impact on the

organization

Which of the following is described as a plan for managing the behavior of employees through a formal system of feedback and reinforcement?

organizational behavior modification

Employees' sense of __________ usually would reserve loss of a job for the most serious offenses.

outcome fairness

Which type of decision by U.S. companies often involves setting up operations in another, lower-wage country and hiring employees there?

outsourcing a function

The HR team of a firm establishes the guidelines for the performance management of its new and experienced employees. The measurement targets are defined in terms of sales targets achieved and the number of customer service calls made. Which guideline is being used by the HR department to measure the performance management system?

precise terms

Which phase of preparation for an international assignment involves providing information about the employee's community and parent-country workplace?

preparation for the return to the home country

Repatriation is the process of

preparing employees to return home from a foreign assignment.

Management goals are to increase the organization's _____ and raise output.

profits

Mentoring involves an experienced, productive senior employee who helps develop a less experienced employee, called the

protégé.

Sophia is training her company's supervisors in how to use the new performance management system. She explains the importance of ensuring that employees know what goals they are expected to achieve. Assuming the company has a well-designed performance management process, what would Sophia tell the supervisors they should do next?

provide support and discuss performance regularly

Which approach to performance management has very high fit to strategy; usually high validity; high reliability; high acceptability; and high specificity regarding results, but low specificity regarding behaviors necessary to achieve them?

results approach

Which element of a high-performance work system deals with performance measures by which employees are judged and the methods of measuring such performance?

reward systems

Pedal People, a chain of car dealerships in the North, is using benchmarking to analyze the labor market to see if it needs to adjust pay levels for its sales force. Which category of workers would be the best choice to include in its analysis?

salespeople at other car dealerships

Identify the performance measurement method that requires managers to rank employees in their group from the highest performer to the poorest performer.

simple ranking

Frye Inc. wants to ensure that its employees' behavior is connected with the goals of the company in order to help achieve its business objectives. Which purpose of performance measurement should be used by Frye Inc.?

strategic purpose

What can help organizations achieve high performance?

swift disciplinary action

Which element of a high-performance work system makes jobs efficient while encouraging high quality?

task design

Puffer Consultants, a business consulting firm, wants to attract and keep highly ambitious employees who work hard and want to advance in their careers. Which benefit would especially appeal to this type of employee?

tuition reimbursement

Tina is a human resource executive at Savvy Savers, a financial planning firm. The executives want to introduce electronic monitoring of the office staff. Tina needs to prepare for the concerns she expects employees to have and to show them that the performance data gathered will be used ethically. Which use of electronic monitoring would most likely demonstrate this to employees?

using performance data to coach employees so they develop their skills

Which activity would most likely be an action of a worker center?

using publicity to pressure employers to treat their workers better

Job satisfaction refers to a pleasant feeling resulting from the perception that one's job fulfills or allows for the fulfillment of one's important job values. This definition of job satisfaction has three components, summarized as

values, perceptions, and ideas of what is important.

Eta Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, outsources part of their IT operations to Mumbai, India. What most likely led to this decision?

well-trained technical workers

Under what conditions may an employer have a legitimate reason to collect information about employees' use of alcohol or other intoxicants outside the workplace?

when employees hold positions where drug use could cause dangerous accidents

What is true of collective bargaining

Bargaining structure differs depending on the range of workers covered by a contract.

Some managers at Speedy Operators hear that some employees are talking about organizing a union to represent the customer service agents, who are at the core of the company's operations. The managers are concerned and ask Emily, the HR manager, what they can do to make a union less likely. Which statement would be best for Emily to include in her advice?

Be responsive to employees' problems, and treat them all with respect.

Broc, a supervisor, is discussing an employee with Anthony, a human resource manager. Broc explains that the employee's performance has not met company standards for two years. After assisting her and discussing the problem with her, Broc has concluded that the employee can do the work, she just doesn't want to bother. What should Anthony advise Broc to do?

Broc should withhold a raise, and if the employee does not respond, then her employment should be terminated.

Karla is teaching a newly promoted supervisor how to use the company's performance management system. The supervisor asks Karla when she is supposed to give employees performance feedback. Which answer would best guide the supervisor?

Employees benefit from feedback that occurs so often they know what will be said in their annual review.

What is true of the benefits that are provided to employees?

Employees can understand the value of benefits through various media.

What is an advantage of having employees participate in decisions about incentive pay plans?

Employees know what kinds of behavior can help the organization perform well.

What is a disadvantage of an organization with a high-paying incentive scheme?

Employees may focus on only the performance measures that are rewarded.

Which statement is true about a sabbatical?

Employees on sabbatical often receive full pay and benefits.

What is a disadvantage of cafeteria-style plans?

Employees selecting benefits leads to increasing costs.

Which statement describes a consideration that applies to training employees from a culture high in power distance?

Employees will view trainers as experts, authoritarian, and controlling.

According to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, what is true of healthcare benefits?

Employers must choose between paying a penalty or offering insurance meeting certain standards.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what is true about lifestyle dichotomy?

It describes an individual's tendency to be either flexible or structured.

What is a disadvantage of using an output-based, production-oriented incentive scheme?

It does not encourage employees to learn new skills or cooperate with others.

Which statement characterizes a progressive discipline system?

It fulfills the purpose of discipline by teaching employees what is expected of them.

Identify a disadvantage of using the results-oriented performance management method

It has problems with validity.

Identify an advantage of the balance sheet approach to determining the compensation of expatriates

It helps managers to get the same standard of living as in the home country.

What is true about the paired-comparison method of measuring employee performance?

It involves comparing each employee with each other employee to establish rankings.

Which statement best describes how a well-designed system of progressive discipline applies the hot-stove rule?

It involves consequences that are consistent and objective.

Jose is the CEO of a software firm. He is of the opinion that it is fair to pay above the market rate if doing so can help his firm attract and retain top talent. He knows that these employees will make the company more innovative and that they will also contribute significantly to the product quality and productivity. Which statement best supports his view?

Jose considers his employees as resources, and therefore, considers the higher pay an investment in superior human resources.

Polly is a financial assistant and reports to Stew, the head of the finance department. Stew works longer hours than Polly. However, Polly is paid one and a half times her regular pay for working more than 40 hours per week. Under the FLSA, what justifies the organization's decision to pay Polly overtime pay?

Stew is considered an exempt employee.

Walton Home Remodeling sets pay rates slightly above the local market rate, and it communicates this to employees. Which statement about job satisfaction supports the company's use of this policy?

The amount of pay an individual receives is extremely important for job satisfaction.

What is a characteristic of employee benefits?

The benefits offered change over a period of time.

Caf Consultants, a management consulting firm, analyzes its own pay structure and finds that the average pay for junior associates is $60,000. The pay range that the firm set for this position is $50,000 to $72,000. Which statement is true about the compa-ratio for this position?

The compa-ratio is $60,000/$61,000, or slightly less than 1.

The balanced scorecard for the Gina, the production manager at uPhone, includes goals for on-time shipments, product quality, cost savings, and energy efficiency. The product quality goals are weighted to determine 50 percent of Gina's incentive pay. What information does this scorecard reveal about the company's objectives?

The company has several production objectives, but it especially cares about quality.

An automobile manufacturer is recruiting fresh and experienced employees. The manufacturing and assembly departments have the majority of the open positions. These departments have previously notified the senior management that their previous recruits were not the right fit for the demands of their units, as they had hampered teamwork, efficiency, and eventually affected the overall financial health of the firm. Which of the following, if true, would most likely strengthen teamwork within the organization?

The firm should allow the manufacturing and assembly teams to participate in employee selection.

Fork Freight Inc., a maker of farm equipment based in Montana, is planning to send a U.S. marketing manager to lead a product launch in a country with a socialist economic system. As the human resource department plans this assignment, what impact of the host country's economic system will it need to address?

The host country will likely tax a larger percentage of the manager's income than the United States would.

Ben has been sent to Paris for an assignment. During his stay there, his compensation package was different from the one that he received in the United States. It took into account the standard of living in Paris and included additional pay for the inconvenience of relocating overseas. This would indicate that the organization that Ben works for uses the __________ approach.

balance sheet

A telecommunication company is conducting an HRM audit. It uses business indicators of measurement, focusing on items such as percentage of sick leave to total pay, and the average workers' compensation payment (WCP). Which activity is the firm most likely trying to measure with such indicators?

benefits

A business employs many young workers who like to use their time off to travel to visit family or go on adventures. The human resource manager observes that when holidays do not fall on a Friday or Monday, workers are disappointed that having just one day off prevents them from traveling. Which would be the most effective way for the company to add to the value of the holiday schedule?

by using floating holidays to create long weekends of time off

Anthony, an HR executive, is helping his company plan how to become a high-performance work system. The company's managers have agreed to redesign the recruitment and selection process so it will be performed by teams of empowered employees. How should the company's selection process support this change?

by using group interviews and psychological tests to identify candidates with teamwork skills

Jack is using his organization's newest HRM application. The application includes a "what if?" feature that allows Jack to enter different assumptions and see how the likely outcomes will change. What type of HRM application is Jack using?

decision support system

After a restructuring at Yonder Corp. broadened managers' jobs, some managers began experiencing role conflict and role ambiguity. To prevent dissatisfaction among these valued employees, the company asked the human resource department to help managers develop clearer and more balanced roles. The HR manager decided to use the role analysis technique. With this technique, who will meet to discuss the role of each manager affected by the restructuring?

each manager affected and the people who directly interact with him or her

All of the following are factors organizations have to consider when establishing performance management methods in other countries EXCEPT

employee approachability.

Pedal People, a chain of car dealerships in the North, has a service center at each location, each managed by an experienced mechanic. For technicians, it hires high school graduates and trains them to repair cars and deliver great customer service. The more kinds of repairs a technician can perform, the more valuable that employee becomes to the company. Which pay structure would best motivate technicians to become more valuable contributors to Pedal People?

skill-based pay structure

Patterson Productions, a manufacturing company, requires employees to continually widen and deepen their knowledge. It has a pay structure that sets pay according to the employees' abilities or knowledge and what they are capable of doing. Which pay structure is being exemplified in this scenario?

skill-based pay system

Johanna, an HR manager, has been assigned the task of giving out incentives to small groups of employees in appreciation for accomplishing specific goals in reducing energy consumption. Johanna should give out the incentives in the form of

team awards.

Which act allows employees claiming discrimination to treat each receipt of a paycheck as an instance of discrimination for purposes of determining their eligibility to file a complaint?

the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Which force has increased the pressure on companies to link executives' pay to their performance?

the Securities and Exchange Commission's reporting requirements

Terminating an employee may violate an implied agreement if

the action is inconsistent with company policies.

Decisions about which benefits an organization will include should take into account

the expectations of the organization's current employees.