HR midterm quizzes 1-6
Refer to the following hypothetical transitional matrix of the general HR department in a large manufacturing organization.How many of the total sales representatives employed in 2013 were promoted to the sales manager position in 2016?
5 percent As per the figure, only 5 percent of the sales representatives were promoted to the position of sales manager. At the same time, 60 percent remained in the same role, and 35 percent of the sales representatives left the organization.
Which of the following scenarios is an apt example of a future-oriented situational interview?
Alisa was asked about the steps she would take to change the work environment in her office.A situational interview is an interview procedure in which applicants are confronted with specific issues, questions, or problems that are likely to arise on the job. Situational judgment items come in two varieties: experience-based and future-oriented. Future-oriented items ask what the person is likely to do when confronting a certain hypothetical situation in the future
________ refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees' behavior, attitudes, and performance.
C) Human resource managementHuman resource management refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees' behavior, attitudes, and performance. Many companies refer to HRM as involving "people practices."
________ outcomes are used to measure the acquisition of knowledge.
Cognitive Cognitive outcomes are used to measure acquisition knowledge.
________ assess main facets such as verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability.
Cognitive ability tests Cognitive ability tests differentiate individuals based on their mental rather than physical capacities. The three main facets of cognitive ability tests are verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability
________ is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.
DownsizingDownsizing is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.
Which of the following statements is true of the strategic implementation stage of the strategic management process?
During this stage, an organization follows through on a strategy chosen in the strategy formulation stage. During strategy implementation, an organization follows through on a strategy chosen in the strategy formulation stage. This consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals.
Which of the following is true of workforce analytics?
It can show that HR practices influence an organization's profits. HR or workforce analytics refers to the practice of using quantitative methods and scientific methods to analyze data from human resource databases, to make evidence-based HR decisions and show that HR practices influence an organization's "bottom line," including profits and costs.
Which of the following is an advantage of relying on internal recruitment sources?
It generates a sample of applicants who are well known to the firm. Relying on internal sources offers a company several advantages. One of them is that it generates a sample of applicants who are well known to the firm.
________, goals, external analysis, internal analysis, and strategic choices are the five major components of the strategy formulation process.
Mission Five major components of the strategic management process (mission, goals, external analysis, internal analysis, and strategic choices) are relevant to strategy formulation.
________ is the process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of their new jobs.
Onboarding Onboarding, or socialization, is the process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of their new jobs.
________ analysis involves identifying who needs training and determining employees' readiness for training.
Person Person analysis involves identifying who needs training and determining employees' readiness for training.
________ is the degree to which a measure is free from random error.
Reliability One key standard for any measuring device is its reliability. Reliability is the degree to which a measure is free from random error.
Mission Five major components of the strategic management process (mission, goals, external analysis, internal analysis, and strategic choices) are relevant to strategy formulation.
SWOT analysis. External analysis and internal analysis combined constitute what has come to be called the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. After going through SWOT analysis, the strategic planning team has all the information it needs to generate a number of strategic alternatives.
________ is a systematic, planned strategic effort by a company to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
Talent managementTalent management is the systematic, planned strategic effort by a company to use bundles of human resource management practices, including acquiring and assessing employees, learning and development, performance management, and compensation to attract, retain, develop, and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.
The ________ protects individuals from discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 The Civil Rights Act of 1991, an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of employing temporary workers as a means of eliminating a labor shortage?
The low levels of commitment to the organization and its customers that temporary workers bring with them often reduce the level of customer loyalty. Low levels of commitment to the organization and its customers on the part of temporary employees often spill over and reduce the level of customer loyalty.
Which of the following states that it is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire an individual or otherwise discriminate against this individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII states that it is illegal for an employer to "(1) fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."
________ is on-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviors learned in training.
Transfer of trainingTransfer of training is on-the-job use of knowledge, skills, and behaviors learned in training. Transfer of training is influenced by manager support, peer support, opportunity to use learned capabilities, technology support, and self-management skills.
A company employing a differentiation strategy requires employees who
are highly creative and cooperative. Employees in companies with a differentiation strategy need to be highly creative and cooperative; to have only a moderate concern for quantity, a long-term focus, and a tolerance for ambiguity; and to be risk takers
Which of the following is most likely to lead to a successful downsizing?
avoiding indiscriminate reductions The key to a successful downsizing effort is to avoid indiscriminant across-the-board cuts, and instead perform surgical strategic cuts that not only reduce costs but also improve the firm's competitive position.
All decisions for the coffee chain, JoBos, are made by the founder and chief executive officer. This company has a ________ decision-making structure.
centralized Centralized authority is decision-making authority residing at the top of the organizational chart. When authority is distributed through the lower levels, an organization has a decentralized decision-making structure.
Which of the following is the first stage in the training design process?
conducting a needs assessment The first stage in the training design process is to assess needs to determine if training is needed. It involves organizational, person, and task analysis.
If there is a substantial correlation between test scores and job-performance scores, ________ validity has been established.
criterion-related One way of establishing the validity of a selection method is to show that there is an empirical association between scores on the selection measure and scores for job performance. If there is a substantial correlation between test scores and job-performance scores, criterion-related validity has been established.
Jacob is open to experiences if he is
curious and imaginative.A person who is open to experiences is curious, imaginative, artistically sensitive, broad-minded, and playful.
Under ________, intent is irrelevant
disparate impact Under disparate impact, intent is irrelevant. The important criterion is that the consequences of the employment practice are discriminatory.
A restaurant in mid-town New York City has instituted a policy to hire individuals living in close proximity to the restaurant to reduce instances of employees coming in late. As the area surrounding the hotel is predominantly populated with individuals of Caucasian origin, the Hispanic and African-American communities became underrepresented in the restaurant's workforce. This is an example of
disparate impact. Disparate impact occurs when a facially neutral employment practice disproportionately excludes a protected group from employment opportunities. A facially neutral employment practice is one that lacks obvious discriminatory content yet affects one group to a greater extent than other groups, such as an employment test
Units that are a part of the ________ structure act almost as separate, self-sufficient, semi-autonomous organizations.
divisional Units in divisional structures act almost as separate, self-sufficient, semi-autonomous organizations. Divisional structures combine a divisional departmentalization scheme with relatively low levels of centralization.
While evaluating training programs, return on investment can be used to measure
economic value of training.While evaluating training programs, return on investment can be used to measure economic value of training.
Ralph is often tired at work and lacks discipline meeting deadlines. He is a conscientious employee.
false Conscientious employees are dependable, organized, persevering, thorough, and achievement-oriented.
The strategy a company is pursuing does not have an impact on the types of employees that it seeks to recruit and select.
false Recruitment is the process through which an organization seeks applicants for potential employment.
The process of attempting to ascertain the supply of and demand for various types of human resources is called
forecasting. In personnel forecasting, an HR manager attempts to ascertain the supply of and demand for various types of human resources.
When an HR professional is evaluated on how well she embraces inclusion and how effectively she works with diverse populations, she is being evaluated on her competency in
global and cultural effectiveness.An HR professional having competency in global and cultural effectiveness is effective at managing human resources both within and across boundaries. Two of the behaviors that a professional with this competency exhibits are embracing inclusion and working effectively with diverse cultures and populations.
The final stage in work-flow analysis is to identify the work ________ in the development of the work unit's product.
inputs The final stage in work-flow analysis is to identify the work inputs used in the development of the work unit's product. These inputs can be broken down into the raw materials, equipment, and human skills needed to perform the tasks.
Gloria creates specifications for a position including the tasks, duties and responsibilities of the job. This is an example of a
job description. A job description is a list of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities (TDRs) that a job entails. TDRs are observable actions. Job specification is a list of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics an individual must have to perform the job.
Which of the following includes the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that an individual must have to perform a job?
job specification A job specification is a list of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) that an individual must have to perform a job.
The ________ develops laws that govern many HRM activities.
legislative branch The legislative branch of the federal government consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bodies develop laws that govern many HRM activities. Most of the laws stem from a perceived societal need.
Which stage in a work-unit activity analysis focuses on the product, information, or service provided?
output The output stage focuses on what product, service, or information is provided. It looks into how the output can be measured.
Whereas a temporary employee can be brought in to manage a single job, in other cases a firm may be interested in getting a much broader set of services performed by an outside organization; this is called
outsourcing. Outsourcing is a logical choice when a firm simply does not have certain expertise and is not willing to invest time and effort into developing it.
In which phase do employees receive language training and an orientation to the new country's culture and customs?
predeparture phaseBefore departure, employees need to receive language training and an orientation to the new country's culture and customs. Expatriates and their families need information about housing, schools, recreation, shopping, and health care facilities in the areas where they will live.
Manuka has resisted advances from her male boss, who is interested in pursuing a sexual relationship with her. In addition, he has been withholding her promotions for more than a year for this reason alone. Manuka can sue her boss for
sexual harassment. Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances. It can take place in two basic ways: quid pro quo and hostile working environment
Hiring employees from external sources is a
slow option to avoid an unexpected labor shortage, and its revocability is low. There are several options to avoid an unexpected labor shortage. Hiring employees from external sources is a slow option to avoid an unexpected labor shortage, and its revocability is low
Marius has been brought in as a consultant for a large organization. He is tasked with identifying the goals, policies, and action sequences the company should take to offset competitive challenges. Marius will be implementing
strategic management. Strategic management is a process, an approach to addressing the competitive challenges an organization faces. It can be thought of as managing the "pattern or plan that integrates an organization's major goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole.
The ________ component of the strategic management process consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals
strategy implementation During strategy implementation, an organization follows through on the strategy chosen in the strategy formulation stage. This consists of structuring the organization, allocating resources, ensuring that the firm has skilled employees in place, and developing reward systems that align employee behavior with the organization's strategic goals.
As part of Curt's small business loan application, he has to demonstrate the "triple bottom line" of economic, social, and environmental benefits. In doing so, his business is seen as
sustainable. Sustainability refers to a company's ability to meet its needs without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Organizations pursuing a sustainable strategy pursue the "triple bottom line": economic, social, and environmental benefits.
According to the "Job Characteristics Model," ________ is the degree to which a job requires completing a "whole" piece of work from beginning to end.
task identity Task identity is the degree to which a job requires completing a 'whole' piece of work from beginning to end. Autonomy is the degree to which the job allows an individual to make decisions about the way the work will be carried out.
Which of the following is a part of the U.S. government's executive branch?
the president The executive branch of the U.S. government consists of the president of the United States and the many regulatory agencies the president oversees.
As a component of effective managing diversity programs, ________ includes diversity as part of the business strategy and corporate goals.
top management support As a component of effective managing diversity programs, top management support deals with including diversity as part of the business strategy and corporate goal.
When it comes to problem solving, cultural diversity can provide companies with a competitive advantage.
true- When it comes to problem solving, the benefit that cultural diversity offers is heterogeneity in decisions and problem-solving groups. This potentially produces better decisions through a wider range of perspectives and a more thorough critical analysis of issues.
The extent to which performance on a measure is related to performance on the job is called
validity. Validity is the extent to which performance on a measure is related to performance on the job. A measure must be reliable if it is to have any validity.
Which of the following pairs of recruiter characteristics does an applicant tend to respond to most positively?
warmth and informativeness Two traits stand out when applicants' reactions to recruiters are examined. The first, which could be called "warmth," reflects the degree to which a recruiter seems to care about the applicant and is enthusiastic about her potential to contribute to the company. The second characteristic could be called "informativeness."
A(n) ________ test attempts to simulate the job in a prehiring context to observe how the applicant performs in the simulated job.
work-sample Work-sample tests attempt to simulate the job in a prehiring context to observe how the applicant performs in the simulated job. The degree of fidelity in work samples varies greatly.
The process of determining whether there are any subgroups whose proportion in a given job category within a company is substantially different from their proportion in the relevant labor market is called
workforce utilization review. It is important to plan for various subgroups within the labor force. The proportion of workers in these subgroups can be compared with the proportion that each subgroup represents in the relevant labor market. This type of comparison is called a workforce utilization review.