Mgmt 383 ch 11, Mgmt 383 Ch10, Mgmt 383 CH1, Mgmt 383 ch2, MGMT 383 CH3, Mgmt 383 Ch 4, Mgmt 383 Ch 5, Mgmt 383 Ch 6, Mgmt 383 Ch 7

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Employers recruiting for workers with specific skills are turning to ____________ to fill these needs. a. general job boards b. social networking sites c. specialty publications d. current employee referrals

As part of the selection process, the applicants for city manager of Scenic River each appeared one-by-one before the entire Scenic River board of aldermen for an interview. This is an example of a ____ interview. a. panel b. group c. mass d. co-ordinated

In terms of procedural justice, the process of determining base pay, allocating pay increases, and measuring performance all must be seen by employees as a. fair. b. legal. c. performance-based. d. non-discriminatory.

Taking a "green" approach with HR policies can result in all of the following, EXCEPT a. a reduction in the need for safety and health professionals in the organization. b. reduced operational costs. c. a positive effect on attracting, retaining and motivating employees. d. a more strategic emphasis in the organization.

The major federal law that regulates compensation in the U.S. is the a. Fair Labor Standards Act. b. Workers' Compensation Act. c. the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. d. Pay Equity Act.

Unit labor cost is a measure of a. productivity. b. profitability. c. sustainability. d. efficacy.

Which type of compensation is linked directly to individual, team, or organizational performance? a. variable pay b. direct pay c. wages d. salary

____ are the fundamental duties of a job. a. Essential job functions b. Minimum job elements c. Primary requirements d. Dominant KSAs

____ studies the way work moves through the organization in order to improve efficiency. a. Work flow analysis b. Job analysis c. business process re-engineering d. Time-and-motion analysis

_____________ occurs when an individual's work performance or psychological well-being is unreasonably affected by intimidating or offensive working conditions. a. Hostile environment harassment b. Bona fide sexual harassment c. Harassment as perceived by a "reasonable woman" d. Quid pro quo harassment

A ____ is committed when an appraiser rates all employees as average. a. contrast error b. central tendency error c. generalization error d. leniency error

Which of the following types of data should be included in an inventory of employee skills and capabilities? a. employee tenure in each job b. marital status and willingness to relocate c. working relationships within the organization d. education and training levels

Accounting practices treat expenditures on human capital as a. discretionary. b. capital investments. c. expenses. d. fixed costs.

All the following are likely outcomes when an organization's compensation is viewed by employees and outsiders as lacking external equity EXCEPT a. increased turnover among high quality employees. b. lower organizational performance. c. increased likelihood of pay discrimination complaints to the EEOC. d. difficulty recruiting qualified and high-demand employees

An "in basket" test is an example of a/an ____ test. a. psychological b. psychomotor c. work sample d. physical ability

Every application form should have all of the following disclosures or disclaimers EXCEPT a. the requirement for drug testing and other testing. b. how long the application will remain active. c. the organization's policy that employees who join a union will be terminated. d. that falsification of the information on the form can be grounds for serious reprimand or termination.

ROI is the organization's a. return on interest. b. return on innovation. c. return on investment. d. return on intangible assets.

The 360° rating method appears to be less threatening to employees when it is used for ____ purposes. a. administrative b. customer relations c. development d. benchmarking

The ____ is composed of individuals who are assigned a cluster of tasks, duties, and responsibilities to be accomplished. This is the regular entity for the internal decision making process of the firm. a. special-purpose team b. quality circle c. self-directed work teams d. strategic work groups.

The explicit aspects of organizational culture include all of the following EXCEPT a. training. b. regulations. c. sustainability. d. policies.

The extent to which an employee feels linked to organizational success is called a. motivation. b. identification with the organization. c. employee engagement. d. organizational commitment.

Typically, the largest controllable expense in the organization involves a. executive salaries and bonuses. b. technology software and hardware. c. the employees. d. raw material input.

In a/an ____ interview, individuals are asked to identify their reasons for leaving the organization. a. departure b. feedback c. final appraisal d. exit

Priam Designs, Inc., is recruiting for designers using LinkedIn. The ____________ is the group of designers that is available for selection using this recruiting approach. a. applicant pool b. primary labor force c. labor market d. applicant population

___ is the amount estimated to allow an individual to meet his/her basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. a. An honest wage b. A fair wage c. The minimum wage d. The living wage

____ is a bundle of services provided to employees who have been laid off. These services give these former employees support and assistance in finding new jobs. a. Severance b. Worker retraining c. Transition support d. Outplacement

If members of a protected class are under-represented in the workplace, the condition of ____ exists. a. discriminatory intent b. disparate treatment c. disparate impact d. statistical bias

In 2008, the average annual full-time pay of women was ____ as that of the average full-time pay as men. a. 60 b. 70 c. 80 d. 90

In a legal determination of whether discrimination has occurred, the ____ is most important. a. psychological impact on the worker b. state jurisdiction in which the alleged discrimination occurred c. outcome of the practice on employees d. intent to discriminate of the employer

In her interview for a position as a bartender at an upscale hotel bar, Megan was asked "What would you do if one of the customers started slurring her words and began making off-color jokes that other customers in the bar could hear?" Megan experienced a____ interview. a. behavioral b. nondirective c. situational d. stress

In its broad sense, discrimination means a. ethnocentrism. b. viewing people with different characteristics negatively. c. recognizing differences among items or people. d. illegal employment practices.

In most companies and for most employees, the typical time period for formal performance appraisals is a. semi-annual. b. monthly c. annual d. continuous

In order to identify threats and opportunities in the world outside the organization, HR managers must a. evaluate the external workforce. b. conduct a competitive analysis. c. engage in environmental scanning. d. perform a global analysis.

If a recruiter needs to find applicants who have a scarce, highly-specialized skill, it would be most efficient to use a. the web site for that particular professional or occupational association. b. an Internet job board such as Monster or HotJobs. c. a job posting on the employer's own Web site. d. a college placement office.

In designing a "careers" section on an organization's Web site, all of the following should be included EXCEPT a. screening pre-tests that block unqualified applicants from continuing the application process. b. self-assessment checklists for job matching. c. a link to a database so that recruiters can screen applicants. d. a résumé builder and/or a way to paste in an existing résumé.

A comprehensive analysis of all current jobs in the organization can answer all of the following questions EXCEPT a. What is the external labor market for each job? b. How many individuals are performing each job? c. What are the reporting relationships of the jobs? d. How essential is each current job?

A government contractor operating in Iraq has been accused of discriminating against women its hiring and promotion practices. Which agency would investigate and enforce the relevant law in this case? a. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs b. The U.S. Contracts and Agreements Agency c. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission d. The National Labor Relations Board

A(n) ____ is a formal research effort that evaluates the current state of HR management in an organization. a. HR audit b. benchmarking study c. human capital return on investment calculation d. utility analysis

Alamanzo Devices, Inc., in Oklahoma City is opening a location in Brazil. Managers from Oklahoma City will staff key positions in the Brazilian location so that headquarters can closely control the operations there. This is a/an _______ approach to international staffing. a. ethnocentric b. polycentric c. geocentric d. regiocentric

An effective job posting system has all the following characteristics EXCEPT a. in order to maximize the applicant population, jobs should be posted internally and advertised externally simultaneously. b. they can be linked to a system allowing employees to post résumés and profiles online. c. employees who bid unsuccessfully on posted jobs should be counseled why they have been passed over. d. the period of time the job is posted internally must be brief because delays in filling the open position are costly in terms of lost productivity.

Job fairs are primarily useful for a. rapid hiring of large numbers of people. b. maintaining a continuous presence in a local labor market. c. passive recruiting. d. locating high-quality applicants.

Kent and Julie are both recruiters for Sunspree Products. When Kent and Julie interview the same applicant, the two recruiters often find they have different opinions about the applicant's potential as a future high performer for Sunspree. Kent and Julie demonstrate a. low inter-rater reliability. b. high inter-rater reliability. c. high intra-rater reliability. d. low intra-rater reliability.

Lakshi, a teller at one of the branch banks, has filed a complaint of sexual harassment with the EEOC alleging that her branch manager made persistent unwelcome sexual advances toward her. As the newly-hired vice president of HR, you start investigating. All of the following pieces of information will help you defend the company against Lakshi's charge EXCEPT a. Lakshi has not suffered any negative employment action by her branch manager. b. All branch managers, including Lakshi's, have been trained in how to avoid sexual harassment. c. The bank has a current policy against sexual harassment. d. There have been nine complaints of sexual harassment at the bank in the last two years. Each was investigated by HR. Seven were found to be baseless. The harasser was disciplined in the other cases.

Mark, the director of HR for a large professional services firm, wishes to do a job analysis of the professional jobs in the firm. Which method would the employees find MOST intrusive and burdensome to carry out? a. employee diary/log b. the O*Net technique c. Position Analysis Questionnaire d. panel interviews

Organizational productivity for the local Meals on Wheels charity ultimately affects the organization's a. total costs. b. profitability. c. total revenue. d. competitiveness.

The collection of unwritten expectations that both employees and employers have about the nature of their work relationships is called the a. psychological contract. b. organizational culture. c. implicit agreement. d. performance-rewards exchange.

Under the balanced scorecard approach, an organization's performance is measured using all of the following categories EXCEPT the ____ perspective. a. marketing b. learning and growth c. financial d. internal business processes

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. It is currently illegal for employers to collect genetic information on employees. b. Employers can legally test employees for genetic characteristics, but they cannot take any actions on the results if the employee would be negatively impacted. c. Employers can legally test employees for genetic characteristics and make decisions based on these tests. d. Genetic tests are legally allowed only if employers can demonstrate business necessity.

Which of the following statements regarding school and college recruiting is TRUE? a. Vocational colleges and technical schools often have co-operative programs with employers that funnel quality students into regular jobs. b. College recruiting is one of the least expensive recruitment methods. c. Companies who target minority students before they graduate are likely to be violating EEO laws. d. If the employer has no jobs available in a particular semester, it is a waste of scarce resources to interview on campus.

A disadvantage for employees who telecommute is that they a. are less productive than employees who work on-site because of lack of access to company resources. b. may have lower motivation because they are not physically present at company facilities. c. are assigned heavier workloads than employees who are directly supervised, so there is a higher level of overwork. d. are viewed by managers as less committed to their work and the organization.

Ability, intelligence, and conscientiousness are all examples of a. elements of job performance. b. selection criteria. c. predictors of selection criteria. d. employability factors.

An hourly manufacturing worker transported from the 1960s to 2010 would find that manufacturing work today a. requires more collaboration skills than in the 1960s. b. is just as monotonous and repetitive as in the 1960s. c. replaces employees manual skills with robotics and automation. d. demands more adaptability to changing conditions than in the 1960s.

Ariel Aeronautics, Inc., wishes to motivate its current employees to stay with the company and to develop and advance within it. All of the following actions will contribute to Ariel Aeronautics' goal EXCEPT a. doing most hiring at the entry level. b. making extensive use of professional job boards on the Internet c. building an accurate inventory of employee characteristics. d. increasing employee development programs.

During the appraisal interview with a poor-performing subordinate, the manager should NOT a. focus on future development issues because the performance being evaluated is in the past. b. insist on the subordinate's agreement with the negative evaluation. c. consider his or her own role in the subordinate's poor performance. d. allow the subordinate to respond to negative feedback

Of the types of employees listed below, the management by objective process would work best for a. assembly line employees at a commercial bakery. b. commercial loan officers in a national bank. c. police dispatchers at in an urban police department. d. emergency room physicians.

One approach to assessing HR effectiveness is ____, which compares specific measures of performance against data on those measures in other organizations. a. comparative return on investment b. benchmarking c. EVA d. the balanced scorecard

The information in the employee skills inventory data bank a. should be posted on the company's intranet to assist career planning. b. should be available only to those who have a specific use for it. c. can include information that is not directly job-related. d. is most useful in its measurement of the workforce's soft skills.

The landmark case that established the importance of disparate impact as a legal foundation of EEO law is a. Adarand Constructors v. Pena. b. Griggs v. Duke Power. c. University of California at Davis v. Bakke. d. McDonnell Douglas v. Green.

The main responsibility for conducting performance appraisals lies with a. HR specialists b. managers c. consultants d. top management

The major saving in time generated by Internet recruiting compared with traditional recruiting is in a. time in designing communications. b. communication between the applicants and the employer. c. HR staff time for processing résumés. d. HR staff time in handling blogs, tweets, and email with applicants versus snail mail, faxes and phone calls

The vice-president of HR for Blue Horizon Mental Health is designing a performance appraisal system that includes subordinate ratings of their supervisors. The supervisors are concerned about this and have raised all of the following objections EXCEPT a. the supervisors are concerned that they will be rated on how nice they are to subordinates rather than on their true supervisory performance. b. the supervisors believe that employee feedback will be overly focused on objective performance criteria and not intangible leadership qualities. c. the supervisors are most opposed to using the evaluations for administrative purposes, although they are more open to using the evaluations for development purposes. d. the supervisors argue that subordinates will not want to give them negative feedback because of fear of reprisals.

Trent has just become a recruiter for Peahen Products, Inc. In examining the existing applicant selection tests that Peahen uses, Trent comes across some tests he has not used in other organizations. One is a graphology (handwriting) test for conscientiousness and attention to detail.. Trent is of the opinion that if he gave applicants a graphology test as a personality test, it would be perceived as a. a reliable screening device. b. invalid. c. illegally discriminatory. d. fakable.

What is purpose of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act? a. It mandates job retraining for workers who are laid off for economic reasons. b. It requires employers to give a 60-day notice before a layoff or facility closing involving more than 50 people. c. It requires employers to provide outplacement and severance pay for workers who are terminated in "mass" layoffs. d. It requires that employers contemplating layoffs must contact the Department of Labor 60 days before a mass layoff.

What is the first step in constructing behavioral scales? a. determining a "standard of excellence" for each job dimension b. identifying the most important performance factors in an employee's job description c. assessing the performance of the current job holder(s) d. specifying the performance goals that each employee must meet within stated time deadlines.

Which of the following statements about recruiting friends and family of current employees is TRUE? a. Friends and family of current workers tend to be less qualified than external hires, especially if bonuses are offered to the referring employees. b. If the current workforce is not diverse, EEO problems may result. c. Family connections moderate the normal political maneuvering that occurs in firms. d. Anti-nepotism laws make current-employee referrals problematic.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Mark is a contingent employee of Perspectivo. He can legally work for another organization at the same time. b. Amy works for Perspectivo as a contingent worker. For legal purposes, she is an employee. c. Clark works for Perspectivo through an employment agency. Clark is a contingent employee. d. Gidget is an independent contractor for Perspectivo. Her contract limits her pay and the time period for which she will do work for Perspectivo.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about the balanced scorecard approach to measurement of HR performance? a. The balanced scorecard approach stresses the measurement of qualitative HR contributions rather than rather than tangible or financial contributions of HR. b. The balanced scorecard helps an organization understand the cost/benefit payoffs of its HR activities. c. The balanced scorecard approach eliminates most of the subjectivity involved in measuring the strategic performance of HR in an organization. d. A major advantage of the balanced scorecard approach is the speed with which it can be implemented.

Employees who value _________ are most likely to be attracted to jobs allowing them to telecommute. a. work variety b. opportunities for early retirement c. flexibility d. a fast-track promotion path

Eric belongs to an informal group of HR compensation executives from various industries who share information and programs through a wiki. Eric and his colleagues are engaging in a. collusion. b. corporate espionage. c. collaboration. d.

HR forecasting periods of one to three years are considered to be __________ range. a. short b. interim c. intermediate d. long

HR professionals value their professional certification because a. certification is required in order to hold an exempt-level position in HR. b. most large organizations require certification for entry-level HR positions.. c. of the credibility certification gives them with peers and senior managers. d. certification is viewed as the equivalent of a master's degree in HR.

Hector Printers & Publishers, Inc., has a reputation as a troubled firm in a declining industry. As the new director of HR, you explain to the CEO that the company's poor image is probably resulting in all of the following EXCEPT a. fewer high-quality applicants apply for jobs at Hector P&P than at its competitors. b. turnover of current employees is higher than at its competitors.l c. Hector's total costs of recruiting and selection are lower than at its competitors. d. recruiting top performers is more difficult than for its competitors.

Ideally, in order to keep job descriptions and job specifications updated, the organization should a. conduct organization-wide job analysis every two years. b. conduct job analysis whenever a job-based lawsuit is filed. c. review and revise job descriptions and specifications during each performance appraisal interview. d. review all job descriptions and job specifications whenever the organization is restructured.

Important information that the company can learn from rejected applicants includes all of the following EXCEPT a. the timeliness of the process, including notice of rejection. b. the applicants' perception of the organization. c. the trade-off of speed of hire versus applicant quality. d. whether the recruited asked inappropriate questions.

In some industries, such as ____, unions have traditionally supplied workers to employers. a. auto manufacturing b. publishing c. construction d. mining

International firms that move manufacturing operations to low-wage countries overseas are sometimes criticized for being "sweatshop employers." Which of the following is NOT a defense for an international firm that is taking advantage of the wage disparity between the U.S. and less-developed countries? a. Even though the wages are lower in the less-developed host country than in the U.S., the host country employees are receiving higher wages than they would otherwise. b. The jobs provided by the U.S. company reduce unemployment in the host country. c. The host country employees receive specialized training that will enable them to emigrate to the U.S. for a better life. d. The working conditions in the U.S- run manufacturing plant may not adhere to U.S. standards, but those standards may be better than those typical in the host country.

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding cost per hire? a. If employment agencies consistently show higher cost per hire than the firm's Internet recruiting for applicants of equivalent quality, then the HR director should consider dropping the employment agencies. b. Pushing to lower cost per hire may negatively affect the quality of the applicants available. c. Cost per hire should include only direct costs of recruiting. d. Cost per hire will vary by the type of job.

____ define the level of performance that is expected by an employee. a. Job criteria b. Job expectations c. Performance standards d. Essential elements

____ employees work from remote locations via electronic computing and telecommunications equipment. a. Remote b. Contingent c. Teleworking d. Pseudo

____ is a positive emotional state resulting from evaluating one's job experiences. a. Organizational commitment b. Psychological fulfillment c. Job satisfaction d. Engagement in one's work

Although Kathleen has a healthy lifestyle, she is suffering from high blood pressure and headaches. When she talks with her co-workers in the department, she finds that a number of them have high blood pressure, sleep disorders and other stress-related medical problems. It would be prudent for the HR manager to consider a. outsourcing these jobs to eliminate these unhealthy workers. b. enriching the jobs in this department. c. introducing flexible scheduling. d. examining the job design in this department.

Job ____ is the process of shifting a person from job to job. a. enlargement b. flexing c. variety d. rotation

Which of the following statements is TRUE about job boards? a. Job boards enable job seekers to submit résumés to many employers simultaneously. b. Much of the information companies provide on job boards is intended to mislead competitors. c. Applicants hired from job boards have worse average performance levels than applicants hired via social networking media. d. A high proportion of applicants using job boards are unemployable.

Organizations that have specific policies about where they wish to position themselves in the labor market use a/an ____ strategy. a. industry b. quartile c. benchmarking d. labor market

Which of the following is NOT a non-monetary reward? a. training and development programs. b. matching stock purchase plans. c. career management services. d. employee recognition.

____ are payments directly calculated on the amount of time worked. a. Salaries b. Wages c. Stipends d. Bonuses

A/an ____ is an indirect reward given to an employee or group of employees because they are members of the organization. a. incentive b. bonus c. benefit d. motivator

IF employees feel their pay is unfair, they are likely to do or feel all the following EXCEPT a. quit. b. be dissatisfied with their jobs. c. lose self-esteem. d. change their job performance.

Performance appraisals are widely used for all the following types of employees EXCEPT a. non-exempt employees. b. professional employees. c. managers in service industries. d. unionized production employees.

All of the following are examples of internal sources of applicants EXCEPT a. A veterinarian expanding her practice returns to her alma mater to interview new veterinary school graduates. b. Jolene recommends her roommate to fill an open position as a sales representative at the company where Jolene works as a technician. c. An applicant for a research librarian job who was rejected, is contacted by the library the following year for a different position. d. Jim is offered a transfer from his current safety auditor job in Tennessee to the same position in the company's South Korean factory.

All of the following are "soft skills" that can be crucial to outstanding job performance EXCEPT a. cognitive ability. b. empathy. c. conscientiousness d. emotional intelligence.

All of the issues below are drivers of retention to which organizations can affect EXCEPT a. employee personality. b. work/life balance. c. employee/supervisor relationships. d. compensation and benefits.

All of the persons below would be classified as disabled EXCEPT a person who a. is addicted to a prescription drug which she gets from her sister who is a pharmacist. b. has been treated by a psychiatrist for depression, but who has never been hospitalized for depression. c. person who is deaf without his hearing aids. d. who is currently receiving chemotherapy for cancer of the esophagus.

Clarence is selecting questions for a structured interview he is designing. He wants to ask each candidate a question or two that will tap the applicant's motivation. All of the following would be good "motivation" questions EXCEPT a. Describe a difficult problem you faced and solved. b. What rewards mean the most to you? c. How do you measure success? d. What projects get you excited?

A job description identifies the a. knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to do the job satisfactorily. b. tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job. c. contribution of the job to the strategic goals of the organization.. d. minimum performance standards for the job.

Employee medical insurance paid for by the employer is classified as ____ compensation. a. indirect b. direct c. intangible d. intrinsic

Hector Graphics is conducting a vigorous recruiting campaign aimed at hiring a 12 new employees, usually within two months. Hector Graphics is engaging in __________ recruiting. a. intensive b. targeted c. focused d. crisis

The ____ pool consists of all persons who are actually evaluated for selection. a. applicant b. selection c. labor d. talent

WesternBioLabs, Inc., is in the process of laying off 10% of its shipping and receiving employees at the same time that it is hiring new hourly employees to staff a new night shift. WesternBioLabs is a. churning. b. restructuring. c. in violation of the WARN Act. d. spinning off employees.

____ involves fitting a person to the right job. a. Placement b. Orientation c. Selection d. Staffing

____ is the process of analyzing and identifying the need for and availability of human resources so that the organization can meet its objectives. a. Human resource planning b. Environmental scanning c. Labor market analysis d. Strategic planning

A practice necessary for safe and efficient organizational operations is called a/an a. economic viability requirement. b. business necessity. c. prerogative of management. d. bona fide occupational qualification.

According to the concept of ____, the pay for jobs requiring comparable levels of knowledge, skill, and ability should be similar even if actual duties differ significantly. a. equal pay b. pay equity c. comparable compensation d. gender neutral pay systems

All of the following actions are critical components of an organization's ensuring that it has taken "reasonable care" in preventing sexual harassment. a. establishing a sexual harassment policy b. terminating any employee accused of sexual harassment c. training managers and employees on avoiding committing sexual harassment d. investigating and taking action when sexual harassment is reported

An accurate ____ section of the job description gives the qualifications needed to perform the job satisfactorily. a. essential functions and duties b. job specification c. job standard d. performance standard

An effective performance management system must have all the following characteristics EXCEPT a. it must link organizational strategy to ultimate results. b. it must allow individual employees flexibility in how they will achieve ultimate results. c. it must translate organizational strategies into unit-level actions. d. it must assign unit-level actions to individual employees.

Using technology to monitor employee performance a. is legally considered an invasion of privacy unless the Department of Justice has approved the methodology. b. typically does not affect employee attitudes because performance evaluation is a normal and accepted organizational process. c. involves few legal restrictions. d. rarely results in information that results in employee discipline or termination, so its expense is difficult to justify

Voltra, Inc., is planning to fill a number of openings for entry-level professionals. The selection process is quite extensive and includes several levels of individual interviews, team interviews, and psychological tests, as well as general ability tests. Much of the interview time is spent on the applicant's philosophy of life and work. Voltra, Inc., is highly concerned with a. defining who is an applicant. b. complying with EEO and ADA requirements. c. person-organization fit. d. matching the person to the job.

WeStorIt, Inc., requires all candidates who receive conditional job offers to take a physical ability test that requires them to be able to lift 50 pounds from the ground to a height of three feet for 30 minutes at a time, to be able to push a trolley loaded with 500 pounds of weight for 100 yards, and to walk up three flights of stairs, among other requirements. This test is required for warehouse workers, warehouse supervisors and office managers. Which of the following statements about this test is TRUE? a. This test is legal because it is not used to pre-screen applicants. b. Employers can use this test because a conditional job offer has been extended. c. This test is not clearly linked to job requirements. d. If physically disabled applicants apply for these jobs, it is not discriminatory to eliminate them with pre-screening questions.

What is the purpose of pre-employment screening? a. to provide a realistic job preview and discourage potential applicants who would be dissatisfied with the job b. to weed out applicants with arrest records and convictions c. to determine if applicants meet the minimum qualifications for open jobs d. to obtain information for EEO and Affirmative Action reports

Which of the following statement is TRUE regarding forecasting methods? a. Subjective judgment has no place in modern HR forecasting which depends entirely on hard, objective data. b. Statistical regression analysis is a well-established judgmental method for forecasting. c. Forecasting is a combination of quantitative methods and subjective judgment. d. Complex computer simulations are able to project HR supply and demand accurately over the long-range, but short-run projections are more error-prone.

Which of the following statements are TRUE? a. The main reason people quit jobs is to make more money.. b. Selection processes impact performance levels, but have little effect on voluntary turnover. c. Employees who received job training are likely to remain with the employer if they have internal advancement opportunities. d. Long-service employees can be viewed as family who will stay with an organization out of loyalty regardless of tangible rewards.

All of the following statements are true about graphic rating scales EXCEPT a. graphic rating scales are easy to develop. b. separate traits or performance factors are sometimes grouped together which leads to inconsistency in how evaluators interpret the scale item. c. graphic rating scales can either use verbal or numerical scales. d. graphic rating scales require less rater training than other methods because the descriptive terms used carry widely-understood interpretations.

One of the top challenges faced by family-owned firms is a. fairly compensating "outsiders" in comparison to family members in similar positions. b. anti-nepotism legislation. c. providing jobs for extended-family members. d. attracting "outsiders" with key capabilities into the firm.

The Equal Pay Act prohibits wage differentials based on a. race. b. job classification. c. job title. d. gender.

The Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act (OWPBA) requires employers to do all of the following EXCEPT a. give workers 40 years old and older 45 days to consider accepting severance benefits and waiving the right to sue for age discrimination. b. to disclose the ages of both terminated employees and retained employees when there are layoffs. c. offer older workers "consideration" in exchange for waiving the right to sue the employer for age discrimination. d. provide workers over the age of 40 continued medical benefits until they qualify for Medicare or take new jobs with medical benefits.

The size of the applicant pool is affected by all the following factors EXCEPT a. the unemployment rate in the applicable labor market. b. the reputation of the industry c. the job specifications. d. the efficiency of the recruiting staff.

The team leader of a self-directed team is in reality a/an a. administrator. b. supervisor. c. arbitrator d. facilitator.

There are two kinds of executive search firms. ____ firms charge a fee regardless of the success of the search. a. Contract b. Commission c. Contingency d. Retainer

Trunkline Chemicals is considering opening a manufacturing plant in Vietnam. As director of HR, you assign a committee of HR staff to investigate all of the following factors EXCEPT a. the role and nature of labor unions in Vietnam. b. the stability of the political environment in Vietnam. c. Vietnamese laws regarding compensation. d. whether the change in manufacturing location will be profitable in the short-run.

Typical compensation appeals procedures require the employee to discuss the problem first with a. the organizational ombuds. b. the EEOC. c. the HR department. d. his/her supervisor.

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to the physical appearance of employees? a. Men who wear beards for religious reasons typically win lawsuits against employers who require employees to be clean-shaven. b. Obesity may be considered as a disqualification for a job if excess weight prevents satisfactory job performance. c. An employer can reject an applicant because he/she too short to safely use the required equipment. d. Pregnant women can be required to start their pregnancy leave when they can no longer fit into the mandatory work uniform.

Which of the following has been a general ruling in cases filed under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? a. Employers are not required to accommodate the needs of pregnant employees. b. Pregnancy is a disability requiring special accommodation. c. Women must be assigned less strenuous tasks, also termed "light duty," during pregnancy. d. Employers must treat pregnant employers the same as non-pregnant employees with similar abilities or inabilities.

Which of the following is FALSE? a. Narrative methods and MBO work better for higher-level jobs than for lower-level jobs. b. Category scaling methods are not helpful in measuring strategic accomplishments of employees. c. The MBO method takes quite a bit of time to define expectations and explain the process to employees. d. It is important to use only one type of performance appraisal method for each category of employee.

Which of the following is NOT a common negative by-product of diversity training? a. heightening of hostility and conflicts among employees. b. backlash by white male employees. c. minority employee resentment of diversity training as "PR." d. an increase in internal complaints of discrimination and EEOC filings by employees.

nder the FLSA, which of the following would be classified as a non-exempt employee? a. an artist creating murals for a high-end restaurant b. a sales representative who travels 3 days a week to meet prospective clients c. the architect overseeing the construction of a new university library d. an electrician on staff at a casino

All of the following are legal concerns about Internet recruiting EXCEPT a. potential wrongful termination lawsuits if managers post comments about subordinates' demographics. b. discrimination lawsuits if potential employers see information on social networking sites that reveal protected class status. c. what actions qualify an person visiting a job website as an applicant for legal purposes? d. the higher level of applicant fraud and exaggeration of qualifications compared with traditional recruiting methods.

In a ____ interview an applicant might be asked,"In your experience as a supervisor, how did you handle an employee who was a poor performer?" a. behavioral b. biographical c. non-directive d. situational

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects individuals over the age of a. 40. b. 50. c. 65. d. 70.

All of the following are examples of flexible staffing EXCEPT a. using regular part-time employees. b. hiring independent contractors. c. using seasonal workers.. d. hiring temporary workers.

Each of the following is one of the Big Five personality characteristics EXCEPT a. leadership. b. extroversion. c. emotional stability. d. openness to experience.

Which of the following metrics is a quality measure? a. fill time b. cost per hire c. success base rate d. yield ratio

Orville Brothers Construction, Inc., is making a bid for a federal government contract to build a bridge. In that bid, the construction company must allow for ____ wages for the employees. a. median national industry b. minimum c. living d. prevailing

The most common area for HR specialization is a. EEO compliance. b. labor/management relations. c. benefits. d. HR information systems.

An "employment game" would be most useful for a job that a. has a positive image among the general public. b. is routine and predictable. c. involves a certain amount of adventure or drama. d. is in a fairly well-understood occupation or industry.

Sally, a recruiter for Boswell-Swift, Inc., in Oregon, made an offer to Kurt, a high-potential graduating college senior in Florida. Sally was positive that Kurt was excited about the job offer, but two days after the offer he rejected the offer. In a follow-up phone call, Sally learned that Kurt had learned about a nasty internal political situation at Boswell-Swift, and he did not want to work in such a tense atmosphere. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true? a. Kurt probably learned of this situation when he made his brief on-site visit to the company. b. This information was likely on a blog connected with Boswell-Swift's official web site. c. Kurt probably found out about this situation on a social networking site. d. This kind of information is frequently revealed in realistic job previews, which Kurt was given.

Talent management includes which of the following activities? a. job-skill training b. wage and salary administration c. diversity assessment and analysis d. environmental scanning

A compensation philosophy in which each employee who has gained another year of seniority should have an increase in pay is called the ____ philosophy. a. entitlement b. commitment c. paternalistic d. the equity-based

All of the following conditions are required to constitute a incident of sexual harassment EXCEPT a. the actions involve physical contact. b. the actions create a hostile environment. c. the actions are sexually directed. d. the actions are unwanted.

As director of recruiting for a large bank, Stacy has decided to restrict her recruiting efforts for loan officers to placing advertisements on the web site of the American Banking Association. This will determine the ____ for the job of loan officer. a. applicant population b. labor force population c. applicant pool d. talent pool

Costa Laguna Manufacturing follows a policy of hiring people based on their race, age, gender, and national origin in order to make up for historical discrimination. This is an example of a. affirmative action. b. fair employment practices. c. historical restitution. d. the "blind to differences" approach

In addition to administrative efficiency, the major reason for compiling data in HR management systems is to a. facilitate information-based HR decision making. b. develop complete records about each employee. c. strengthen the organization's HRMS in comparison to its competitors' HRMS functions. d. allow HR departments to retain the HRMS function in-house rather than outsourcing it to vendors.

Lack of a fit between the person and the job is most likely to result from a. mistakes in evaluating the person's KSAs. b. improper employee training. c. negligent hiring. d. a lack of a positive company "brand" that attracts qualified applicants.

The U.S. economy can be characterized as a/an ____ economy. a. service b. manufacturing c. industrial d. knowledge-based

Three major factors determine individual employee performance in the organization. All of the following would be included under the factor of "support" EXCEPT a. confidence and sense of self-efficacy among employees. b. organizational training programs. c. up-to-date equipment and technology. d. availability of mentors.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. If disparate impact exists between the employer's workforce and the relevant labor markets, then the employer is required by law to expand its external recruiting efforts. b. Affirmative Action Plans include hiring goals for protected classes that the employer must try to meet with its recruiting efforts. c. It would be discriminatory for a race track to advertise job openings for "exercise boys." d. If a company has few Somali employees in a community with a large Somali presence, a good recruiting strategy is to have company employees who are Somali to help with recruiting..

A ____ is a comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of the recruiting process to the number at the next stage. a. progression rate b. yield ratio c. hit rate d. success base rate

A company that structures its compensation system so that half of its competitors pay their employees more than it does and half of its competitors pay less than it does is using a ____ the market strategy. a. lag b. meet c. lead d. follow

A large disaster management firm is hiring individuals to provide security for relief workers at the site of a natural disaster in the U.S. a. The ADA would allow pre-employment-offer medical exam in this case because the job is para-military. b. The ADA would not allow medical exams (except for drugs) until a conditional job offer was made. c. The ADA would not allow a medical exam before a conditional job offer was made because security jobs do not necessarily require able-bodied employees. d. The ADA would allow a pre-employment medical exam if it was used in the context of a preliminary screening fitness-for-active-duty test.

In the typical division of appraisal responsibilities, the HR unit is responsible for a. rating performance of employees. b. designing and maintaining the formal system. c. reviewing appraisals with employees. d. providing regular informal appraisals.

Individuals who fall within a group identified for special treatment under equal employment laws and regulations, are members of a/an a. oppressed minority. b. protected class. c. employment caste. d. special treatment class.

The most effective type of diversity training focuses on a. moral and ethical arguments. b. raising sensitivity and awareness. c. appropriate workplace behaviors. d. potential legal consequences.

A "passive" job seeker is one who a. is seeking a job merely because it is a requirement of receiving unemployment compensation. b. is conducting a haphazard and unplanned job search. c. has a good job and is not actively looking to change. d. an employed individual who cruises job boards looking for better-paying jobs.

A new Gulf Coast casino is hiring over 1,000 employees for its resort opening. The casino's HR department is selecting applicants for formal interviews only after the applicants complete an online questionnaire. This is an example of a/an a. structured selection process. b. selection criterion. c. pre-screening process. d. multiple hurdles approach to selection.

A vendor of selection tests has called on the recruiting manager for Maxster Merchandisers, Inc. The vendor is promoting an honesty test which scores he says are strongly negatively 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 says that a high score on the test has a correlation coefficient of ____ with shoplifting behavior. a. -.2 b. .1 c. .6 d. -.8

For purposes of job similarity under the Equal Pay Act, jobs must have a. identical job titles. b. comparable requirements for knowledge, skills and abilities. c. a common core of tasks. d. similar value of contributions to the organization.

When the depth of a job is increased by adding responsibility for planning, organizing, controlling, and evaluating the job, ____ has occurred. a. job enlargement b. task significance c. job enrichment d. job enhancement

You are writing the electronic technology usage policy for your small company. Which of the following behaviors would be LEAST LIKELY to be included as inappropriate use of company email which might make the company vulnerable to allowing an environment to exist that contributes to harassment? a. forwarding pornography to co-workers b. forwarding jokes with sexual content to co-workers c. sending an electronic Valentine to one's spouse d. sending love poems to a co-worker who is not the sender's romantic partner

hich of the following activities would NOT fall into the risk management function of HR? a. Sending all employees a text message requiring them to report in to a designated individual after an earthquake affects the city in which the company's plant is located. b. Negotiating with a representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about appropriateness of a measure to reduce harmful gases in a mine. c. Requiring employees to purchase a minimal level of life insurance when they are deployed overseas. d. Designing policies and procedures for a shipping firm to handle episodes of piracy and employee hostage-taking..

17. One of the items on the performance appraisal form at Bioengineering Devices, Inc., is "The employee demonstrates creativity, inventiveness and openness to new ideas." This can be considered ____ performance information. a. results-oriented b. behaviorally-based c. objectively observable d. trait-based

A compensation plan for expatriates that equalizes the cost differences between the international assignment and the same assignment in the home country of the individual or the corporation is the ____ approach. a. global market b. cost equalization c. total rewards d. balance sheet

Amber is the manager of a popular clothing store. She regularly works over 40 hour a week. But when new styles are coming in requiring new displays, she may put in as many as 60 hours a week. Amber's paycheck is the same regardless of the number of hours she has worked. Amber is paid on a/an a. total compensation arrangement. b. incentive compensation program. c. wage system. d. salary basis.

Which of the following government regulations has the LEAST effect on HR planning? a. pension laws. b. tax benefits for job-training expenses. c. restrictions on overtime. d. workers' compensation laws.

____ are obligations to perform certain tasks and duties. a. Missions b. Assignments c. Duties d. Responsibilities

According to the overtime provisions of the FLSA all of the following are true regarding non-exempt employees EXCEPT a. they do not receive overtime pay for training that is not directly job related even if the training is outside of regular working hours. b. they must receive overtime pay if they are driving a vehicle to a meeting during regular work hours. c. they do not qualify for overtime pay if they are traveling by bus to another work location during normal work hours. d. they must have their incentive pay added to their base pay used for calculating overtime.

An indication that the organization's compensation system is ineffective includes all of the following EXCEPT a. lower proportion of job applicants who are made offers by the organization. b. high turnover of valuable employees. c. retention of poor performing employees. d. high performing employees who are dissatisfied with their pay.

At SafeGreen, Inc., there is little variation in pay among employees within the existing job categories. Raises are essentially the same for average and excellent performers. Although performance appraisals are performed regularly, everyone views the process as paper-shuffling. The from the point of view of its performance appraisal system, the culture of SafeGreen, Inc., can best be described as a. entitlement-based. b. bureaucratic. c. performance-driven. d. equity-driven.

Brian, the director of compensation, has been asked by the board of directors to present the "employee cost factor" for the last 10 years at the next board meeting. Brian needs to do the following calculation for each year: a. total compensation and benefits / FTEs b. revenue - operating expense - pay and benefits = adjusted profit / FTEs c. revenue - operating expense - pay and benefits = adjusted profit / pay and benefits d. total pay and benefits / total operating expenses

Clementine Import-Export, Inc., has a language-proficiency test for its sales representatives in Latin America. Part of the test requires that sales representatives to be able to ask and answer in Spanish basic questions about prices, quantities, shipping dates and product characteristics. This performance standard can be classified as all of the following EXCEPT a. the standard trait-based. b. the standard is job-related. c. the standard is observable. d. the standard is non-numerical.

Compensatory time-off can be given to non-exempt employees in the private sector a. if it is given to employees at the rate of one and one-half times the hours worked over a 40-hour week. b. if the comp time can be carried over for 60 days. c. if the employee is salaried non-exempt. d. only if the employer is a federal government contractor with contracts over $50,000.

Ernest, a U.S. citizen employee is being assigned to the company's German office in Munich because of his intimate knowledge of the company's main product. Ernest was previously stationed at the company headquarters in Kansas City. Al,l of the following issues should be taken into account when determining Ernest's pay during the years he works in Munich EXCEPT a. the compensation that a German would make in a similar job in Munich. b. German income tax policies. c. cost of living differences between Kansas City and Munich. d. fluctuations between the value of the dollar and the euro

If the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Labor Department investigates an employer's files looking for violations of the FLSA, it will focus on a. employee time records. b. pay levels for all protected classes c. tax withholding records. d. calculation of compa-ratios.

In a competency-based pay system employees are paid a. on the skills and knowledge they have, whether they use these or not. b. according to their job performance, measured either by quality or quantity. c. on the basis of their scores on annual competency tests. d. on whether they have added value to the organization in the last year.

In an equity calculation, an employee's base pay, variable pay, and benefits are the ____ he/she receives from a job. a. outcomes b. outputs c. inputs d. motivators

In an organization with a performance-oriented philosophy, a. employees only get raises if their productivity has been satisfactory or better. b. all employees can at least count on an annual cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries. c. bonuses are based on what other companies in the industries are paying. d. marginal performers tend to be satisfied with their compensation

In comparison to some Asian countries such as China and Japan, U.S. a. managers are brutally honest in communicating negative information to employees in performance appraisals. b. performance appraisal systems over-emphasize traits rather than behaviors. c. performance appraisal systems are based on fewer sources of information. d. managers tend to be so tactful in communicating performance decrements to employees that employees often do not know where they stand.

Paul is a single parent. He received consistently high performance appraisals from his employer, until the company went bankrupt. Now, Paul is looking for a new job. As the recruiter at MilqueMaid Chocolate, you are very interested in Paul. But, your firm has a lag-the-market compensation strategy. You know that Paul has had an offer from a firm that has a meet-the-market strategy. You are not authorized to offer Paul a market-level salary. Your best way to lure Paul to MilqueMaid is to a. point out MilqueMaid's broad-based performance incentive programs. b. emphasize MilqueMaid's entitlement compensation philosophy. c. discuss the method that MilqueMaid used to determine its quartile strategy. d. discuss MilqueMaid's broadband pay structure.

Pay increases for individual, non-executive, employees in a compensation system based on individual performance are typically decided by a. operating managers. b. the compensation committee. c. a compensation consultant. d. HR compensation specialists.

SafeCleanGreen, Inc., has used a ________ performance appraisal system for some 10 years. The company uses this for both administrative and development purposes. SafeCleanGreen has terminated Jerry, who belongs to a protected class, because of inadequate performance, especially on the "creative behavior" element of his performance. If Jerry sues the company for discrimination, the courts will likely be unfavorably disposed to SafeCleanGreen's performance appraisal system. a. trait-based b. results-based c. behavior-based d. productivity-based

The HR unit is typically responsible for all of the following EXCEPT a. recommending pay increases for employees. b. analyzing pay structures. c. evaluating jobs. d. administering the compensation system.

The auditors in a public accounting firm are assigned to new project teams as their current projects end. Consequently, an auditor may work on one project for an entire year or the auditor may be assigned to several different shorter-term projects during a year. All of the following are behaviors that would be important to encourage through the performance appraisal system EXCEPT a. competitiveness. b. achievement orientation. c. initiative. d. information-seeking

Which of the following is a NOT major objective of the Fair Labor Standards Act? a. to eliminate discrimination in compensation b. to limit the number of hours employees work each week c. to establish a minimum wage d. to discourage oppressive child labor

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. If ethical behavior were evaluated in a performance appraisal system and rewarded, employees would sometimes be rewarded for causing immediate or long-term financial losses to the organization. b. Performance appraisal systems are most effective when the behaviors evaluated are objectively measurable or observable. This is the main reason why most performance appraisal systems do not incorporate specific evaluations of the ethical aspect of employee performance. c. An organization's ethical culture is independent of its performance management system. d. A performance-driven organization culture, especially one using management-by-objective performance appraisal, is incompatible with strict ethical standards for employee behavior

All of the following are common reasons why performance appraisal systems are ineffective EXCEPT a. managers lack the courage to tell subordinates they are performing inadequately. b. managers and subordinates collude to inflate performance appraisals. c. managers inflate evaluations to protect subordinates from being fired or losing promotions. d. managers use the performance appraisal system to achieve political goals.

All of the following are potential performance measures for an insurance salesperson. a. number of cold calls on potential clients per week b. materials cost per month c. number of direct client-service hours per month d. dollar amount of new contracts written per week

At Artistic Floral Creations, the non-managerial employees all receive the same pay increase every year. Usually this increase is about 5%, but some years it has been as high as 10% depending on changes in the cost-of-living. Artistic Floral Creations has a/an ____ philosophy of compensation. a. performance b. entitlement c. quartile-based d. total rewards

Behemoth Industries has experienced huge losses for the last three years due to collapsing sales of their outdated product line. Behemoth's stock has plummeted on Wall Street because it has not met projected profits for the 24th straight quarter. Behemoth has moved to a pure pay-for-performance system that is tied to achievement of organizational profit goals. Which of the statements below are most likely to be TRUE? a. Only high performers at Behemoth can be certain that they will receive a pay increase. b. No Behemoth employee can expect he/she will receive a pay increase, regardless of his/her performance. c. All employees except those who are the worst performers can expect that they will receive a pay increase. d. Behemoth will be able to attract high performing employees from its competitors.

Compensation is one of the organization's largest expenditures. Compensation philosophies and systems vary from one organization to the next. Why is that? a. There is no "one right way" to compensate employees. Many systems will work equally well in any organization. b. Different organizations have different organizational objectives and strategies. c. Legal requirements mandate different types of compensation systems depending on the organization's industry. d. Organizations depend heavily on consultants to design their compensation systems, and each consulting firm has its own system

Compensation plans for internationally-assigned employees that attempt to be comprehensive in providing base pay, incentives, benefits and relocation expenses regardless of the country to which the employee is assigned are called ____ compensation plans. a. balance-sheet b. global market c. tax equalization d. supply and demand

Essentially, ____ identify what the organization is paying an employee to do. a. performance measures b. job duties c. job qualifications d. expected performance levels

Higbee Farm Implements one location, a rural Iowa area. Higbee has been experiencing slow sales of tractors and other expensive large agricultural equipment such as combines over the last few years because of the low profitability of the farms in its sales region. In order to increase its profits by increasing the sales of equipment, Higbee has announced that the salesperson who writes the highest dollar volume in sales contracts will win an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii for two for a month. Naturally, this has motivated the sales staff. What is the likely result of this contest? a. The Higbee sales staff will work together smoothly as a team to meet local farmers' equipment needs. b. Higbee's salespersons will pressure farmers to buy machinery they do not really need. c. Higbee's system for measuring performance is contaminated. d. This is a "rank and yank" system and will result in Higbee's sales staff becoming demoralized.

Jack and Jerry are twins. Both started working at competing firms in the same industry. Jack and Jerry were given exactly the same starting salary. They have been with their companies for ten years, and both have identical positions and identical performance ratings. Both Jack and Jerry are consistently average performers. Jack works at a company with an entitlement compensation philosophy. Jerry works at a company with a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy. The two companies are identical in revenue and profitability. They allocate the same budget amount for employee raises each year. All other factors remaining equal, which of the following statements is most likely to be true? a. Jerry will have a higher salary than Jack. b. Jack will have a higher salary than Jerry. c. Jerry and Jack will have identical salaries. d. Jerry and Jack will have identical levels of pay satisfaction

Lucy is a nurse at Mountaineer Assisted Living. She works three 12-hour days in a row and receives 40 hours pay for 36 hours of work. Lucy also receives 12 hours of time and a half overtime pay per week for the four hours over 8 she works on each of her three workdays. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Medical workers are not covered by the FLSA. They are covered by a separate law. b. This is an allowable arrangement under the FLSA. c. The FLSA requires hospitals to use a 14-day period for calculating overtime so Lucy is not entitled to overtime pay for the number of hours over 8 she works in a day. d. Lucy could receive 12 hours of compensating time off instead of the overtime pay if she requested it.

Marcia is very upset. She applied for a waitstaff position at a local restaurant and she was told her base wage would be an amount Marcia knows is lower than the minimum wage. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Marcia should report the restaurant to the U.S. Department of Labor for violating the FLSA. b. The wage offered is consistent with the FLSA because Marcia would be in a "tipped" position. c. The wage offered is legal because Marcia's position is "exempt" from coverage by the FLSA since it is part-time. d. Marcia should report the restaurant to the U.S. Department of Labor because this is not a living wage.

Marie has been offered work as an employee trainer for AgriEnterprise. In this job, Marie will use the employer's training materials, and she will train employees at AgriEnterprise's three locations at the times that the company determines. Marie has been promised that the company will continue to use her services as long as her performance is satisfactory. Marie has agreed not to work as a trainer for any other company while she is working for AgriEnterprise. The company is paying Marie as an independent contractor and not contributing to Social Security or providing benefits. Which of the following statements is correct? a. Marie is an independent contractor. b. Marie is really an employee of AgriEnterprise. c. Marie is an independent contractor with only one client. d. Marie would properly be classified as a learned professional employee and non-exempt.

Performance and talent management fits into the total rewards approach in all of the following ways EXCEPT a. performance reviews for the basis for employee raises and promotions. b. in a total rewards approach, traditional "membership" benefits such as insurance can be tied to performance levels. c. employees with high potential future value to the organization are rewarded with career planning for organizational advancement. d. goal setting to direct the efforts of employees with poor performance is tied to their future rewards.

The CEO of BizMark Equipment wants to know what return the firm is getting on the money it is spending on its employees. As the director of HR, you know this is considered return on human capital. You will calculate this as a. Total Compensation and Benefits / FTEs b. Revenue - Operating Expense -Pay and Benefits = Adjusted Profit / Pay and Benefits c. Revenue - Operating Expense - Pay and Benefits + Adjusted Profit / FTEs d. Total Pay and Benefits Expenditures / Operating Expense

The performance committee of Everyoung Physical Therapy Associates has identified: (1) the progress of the patient according to medical guidelines, (2) patient satisfaction, (3) meeting treatment deadlines, and (4) therapist presence at work as ____ upon which the committee will base the measure of physical therapist performance. a. job duties b. performance measures c. subjective criteria d. critical incidents

Which of the following is a TRUE statement about the overtime provisions for non-exempt employees of the Fair Labor Standards Act? a. A manufacturing firm with a 4-day/10-hour schedule must pay overtime for the two hours above 8 each day. b. Overtime pay is set at one and one-half times the regular pay rate for all hours in excess of 40 per week. c. Compensatory time off must be paid at straight time for all hours over 40 in a week or 8 in a day. d. The work week is defined as beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday and running until midnight Sunday.

Which of the following is true about using behavior-based information for evaluating job performance? a. The aim is to identify the one critical employee behavior which will lead to job success. b. In effect, behavior-based performance appraisal systems penalize employees who use unusual approaches to gain successful results. c. Behavior-based performance appraisal systems are the easiest to develop. d. Behavior-based information looks at what the outcomes the employee has achieved.

You are HR director for a U.S. solar panel company that is outsourcing a fabrication plant to India. As director of HR, you must decide how to pay the hourly workers in the Indian plant. You decide to follow the typical pattern for firms outsourcing to a lower-wage country which is a. paying wages negotiated with the local community leaders in India. b. paying the local market rate for the jobs. c. paying the U.S. wage equivalent in Indian rupees. d. paying lower wages than Indian competitors, but offering more generous benefits.

All of the following are compensation objectives of the organization EXCEPT a. legal compliance with relevant laws and regulations. b. internal, external and individual equity for employees. c. the lowest total cost of compensation among direct competitors. d. performance enhancement for the organization.

Amanda is upset because she makes the same salary as Carl does, even though Amanda has 18 clients and Carl has only 11 clients. Amanda is making a judgment about a. discriminatory compensation. b. procedural justice. c. internal equity. d. external equity.

An organization can benefit from a properly designed and implemented competency-based pay system through a. lower overall labor costs. b. reduction of overtime costs by the move to an all-salaried workforce. c. greater workforce skills and knowledge. d. higher employee satisfaction with pay.

As HR director, you are discussing the implementation of a competency-based compensation system with the company's CEO. You point out that in order for the competency system to be effective a. the company must place its base pay in the third quartile. b. the company's pay structure must be broad-banded. c. the company must invest heavily in employee training programs. d. the company must implement work teams.

At Evergreen Cosmetics, the top executive team's bonus is based on the profitability of the firm. Each executive receives the same percentage bonus as the increase in profits over the previous year. This shows a. a lack of ambition on the part of the executive team. b. a disconnect between executive compensation and the compensation of regular employees. c. the pervasiveness of an entitlement culture even into top management ranks. d. executive commitment to performance management.

Chuck has applied to a residential roofing firm for a job as a roofer during school vacation because the pay is very good. Roofing is considered hazardous work. Under the FLSA Chuck cannot be hired unless he is at least ____ years old. a. 14 b. 16 c. 18 d. 21

Clemmie is a non-exempt employee of a large law firm. During a particular trial 15 percent of her employer's staff caught a particularly virulent flu, resulting in everyone else having to do their own work as well as the sick employees' work. One particularly intense week, Clemmie worked 90 hours. Which of the following statements is true? a. Clemmie will be entitled to time and a half overtime for every hour over 8 that she worked each day. b. Clemmie will be entitled to 75 hours of time off which she can take within the calendar year. c. Clemmie will be entitled to time and one half pay for 50 hours. d. Clemmie will have her choice of receiving either 50 hours of overtime pay or 75 hours of compensatory time off.

For an employer, the primary advantage of classifying a worker as an independent contractor is that a. independent contractors are typically more productive than regular employees. b. independent contractors can be fired at any time, unlike regular employees. c. the employer does not have to pay Social Security, workers' compensation, or unemployment costs. d. employers can legally hire individuals they know do not have U.S. work permits.

In order to translate organizational strategies in to employee behaviors that support these strategies, performance management systems use a variety of techniques at the individual employee level. These techniques include all of the following EXCEPT a. informing the employee of the expected performance levels. b. rewarding the individual employee based on his/her performance. c. ensuring that the individual employee is satisfied with his/her performance appraisal. d. providing feedback on individual employee performance.

Larry has decided to go back to his hometown of Mellonburg and set up an architectural design business for "green" homes. Mellonburg is a depressed farming community of 1,351 residents. It is 20 miles from the nearest restaurant, 70 miles from the nearest Starbucks coffee shop, and the local schools are the worst in the state. The winters are severe, the summers are oppressive. Few single people live there, and the social and cultural life is negligible. In order to attract good quality architects, Larry will probably a. need to ignore the market compensation for architects and pay the architects on an entitlement basis. b. be able to lag the market significantly in pay because of the low cost of living. c. have pay more than the market because of the unappealing location. d. make market comparisons irrelevant by hiring the architects as independent contractors.

Terri is a salaried line worker at Chicken Delight Poultry Processors. Terri joking refers to herself as a "chicken dis-assembler." She often works more than 40 hours a week, and is not paid overtime. a. Terri's pay is consistent with the FLSA because she is a salaried worker. b. Terri should be paid overtime according to the FLSA because she is an exempt employee. c. Terri's pay is not consistent with the FLSA because she is a non-exempt employee. d. Terri should be given compensatory time off but not overtime because she is a salaried worker.

The two basic compensation philosophies, which should be seen as opposite ends of a continuum, are the ____ and the ____ orientations. a. competency, productivity b. exempt; non-exempt c. entitlement; performance d. market-driven, equity-driven

Tom has just taken his first full time job with a salary of $58,000. He knows that he should plan his personal recurring expenses, such as rent and car payments, around this amount because it is his a. total compensation. b. total reward package. c. base pay. d. living wage.

Which of the following are NOT paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act? a. salaried employees b. nurses c. exempt employees d. public sector employees

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Pay-for-performance systems do not work well for CEOs because most CEO performance is not objectively measurable. b. Performance-based pay systems for CEOs typically build in penalties for unethical behavior. c. Performance-based pay systems for CEOs are a key factor in an organization's development of a performance-driven culture. d. Pay-for-performance systems do not work well for CEOs because organizational performance is strongly affected by economic factors beyond the CEO's control

s director of HR for a medium-sized firm, you are implementing your company's first overseas location. You will be transferring ten current employees to the company's foreign location in an underdeveloped country for assignments lasting up to three years. You are considering all of the following factors in these employees' future compensation EXCEPT a. hardship premiums. b. tax equalization. c. cost-of-living adjustments. d. home leave and travel allowances..

All of the following are common criteria of employee performance EXCEPT a. meeting deadlines. b. achieving quality standards. c. being present at work. d. acting in accordance with ethical principles.

As a rule of thumb, the aggregate employer costs for the typical expatriate employee, including all allowances, is about ____ the expatriate's salary. a. 10% of b. half c. double d. three or four times

At a large on-line catalog retail company, supervisors randomly listen in on calls handled by customer representatives to make sure that the customers are greeted politely, orders are taken accurately, order details are repeated to the customer, and that customers are thanked for their orders. This is a ____ -based type of performance information. a. productivity b. trait c. results d. behavior

Counting the number of items a clerk scans per hour is be an example of a/an ____ measure of performance. a. quality b. subjective c. behavior-based d. objective

If an organization's competitive strategy relies on long-term relationships with the clients who purchase the organization's goods and services, the organization should reward its employees from its executives to its sales staff with incentives based on a. quarterly sales. b. annual profits. c. prices of its stocks in daily trading. d. a rolling five-year measure of financial performance.

Megatherium Industries organizes its production employees into work teams. Each team member's salary is determined by a combination of his/her seniority in the firm and competencies which he/she has demonstrated. Sissy is angry because she has found out that Max is paid more than she is because he has earned more skill certifications, even though Sissy has consistently worked harder and "gone the extra mile" in completing team projects. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Research has shown that where employees work in teams, it is crucial for the pay system to be closed because of these kinds of idiosyncratic equity perceptions. b. Sissy is angry because this situation violates her sense of external equity. c. This is an example of how favoritism can undermine the effectiveness of a compensation system. d. This situation violates Sissy's sense of procedural justice

Milo works for the state department of transportation as an hourly-employee in the maintenance department. He is surprised to learn that his friend, Annabelle, who is a salaried paralegal for a law firm, does not get compensating time off when she works weekends and evenings. Milo always gets compensating time off when he has to work late. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Since Annabelle is an exempt employee, she is paid a set salary regardless of the number of hours she works. b. Private sector employees of for-profit organizations cannot legally be given compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay. c. Milo gets compensatory time off because he is a public-sector employee. d. Annabelle is a non-exempt employee and should have the choice of either overtime pay or compensatory time off.

Not all of an employee's job duties are equally important. Performance appraisal systems can best take this into account by a. using results-oriented performance measures for the most important duties and behavior-based or trait-based measures for the lesser-important duties. b. measuring performance only for the most important duties. c. using a critical incident method to measure employee performance. d. weighting the more important duties more highly than the less important duties.

The director of HR at Megatherium Industries knows that there are serious flaws in the company's compensation system. If employees freely discuss their wage or salary levels, raises and bonuses, the director is concerned that there will be widespread dissatisfaction and employee questions that will place the HR department and top management in a bad light. Consequently, Megatherium has a strict pay secrecy policy, and employees who discuss their pay are disciplined. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Megatherium's policy of pay secrecy is unusual among U.S. organizations. b. If Megatherium opens its pay policies, employee satisfaction and retention will improve because employees will not have to rely on conjecture and rumor. c. Closed pay systems, such as Megatherium's, are illegal for any company traded on the NY Stock Exchange. d. It is possible that Megatherium's policy violates the National Labor Relations Act.

Which of the following is the typical structure of team-based compensation? a. individual pay-for-performance based on team member input b. skill-based pay plus a percentage of base pay c. equal pay for each team member based on team performance d. team-based variable pay on top of individual base pay

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding performance management in a global setting? a. Because human psychology is the same worldwide, a well-designed performance management system will work in any cultural setting. b. Business organizations in every culture include some type of formal performance feedback for employees. c. U.S.-style performance management systems are becoming more widely used overseas because of their effectiveness in increasing employee performance. d. U.S. companies may need to eliminate their performance management processes in certain countries.

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. The only aspect of a compensation system which can be used to shape employee behavior is the structure of variable incentives. All other rewards only encourage continuing membership in the organization. b. Indirect compensation and non-monetary rewards will not overcome the negatives of below-market direct compensation. c. Since employees' understanding of their indirect rewards is so vague, HR managers should focus on the effects of tangible and direct compensation on employee attraction, retention and motivation. d. In a total rewards system the needs and expectations of employees are balanced with the interests and costs of the employers.

Which of the following would be an example of an intrinsic reward? a. a grant of stock options b. additional medical insurance coverage c. a membership in a country club d. satisfaction with meeting a tight deadline.

____ is the process of determining how well employees do their jobs relative to a standard and communicating that information to the employee. a. Employee development b. Performance management c. Process improvement d. Performance appraisal

A third-quartile approach is a compensation strategy a. in which the company pays higher wages than its competitors do. b. to pay below the average in the labor market. c. where one-third of the competitors in the labor market pay higher wages than what the company does. d. in which the company pays the median of what its competitors pay.

A work flow analysis BEGINS with a. an examination of the quantity and quality of the desired and actual outputs. b. analysis of job descriptions and job specifications. c. evaluating the activities, i.e., the tasks and jobs involved. d. assessing the inputs, i.e., the people, material, data, equipment that are used.

About 50% of the private sector employees in the U.S. economy are employed by a. small businesses. b. federal government agencies and the military. c. large firms in service industries, particularly health care and technology. d. traditional, large manufacturing companies.

Abundance Nurseries needs large numbers of unskilled employees every spring and summer to plant, maintain, and harvest the flower fields. Abundance is located in an area where there is a large supply of unskilled workers, and it has few problems recruiting workers as needed. It would be reasonable for Abundance Nurseries to position its pay for these workers in the ____ -quartile of the labor market. a. first b. second c. third d. fourth

A large commercial landscaping service in the Southwest requires all Hispanic applicants for crew boss positions to have a U.S. high school diploma. Native English speakers are not required to have a high school diploma. The stated business purpose of this requirement is to insure that the Hispanic applicants speak English well enough to perform the job. This is an example of a. disparate treatment. b. a bona fide occupational requirement. c. disparate impact. d. a business necessity.

Alice, a chronically tardy server at a moderately-priced family restaurant, who consistently gets the lowest tips from customers, has announced that she is quitting to take another job at a newly-opened casino. This could be categorized as ____ turnover. a. functional b. controllable c. involuntary d. predictable

Chuck's office has moved to a ____ arrangement where Monday through Thursday the employees work from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. with an hour off for lunch, and everyone takes Friday off. a. compressed workweek b. contingency scheduling c. flextime d. shift work

Evaluating the success of an HR department's own recruiting efforts is important for all the following reasons EXCEPT a. evaluation will show whether the firm should make more use of training and development versus external recruiting of specialists. b. evaluation allows HR staff to estimate how long it will take to fill certain open positions. c. evaluation allows the employer know if it is meeting affirmative action goals. d. evaluation is the primary way to find out which recruiting sources result in the highest proportion of high-performing employees..

In order to show how the rate of compensation changes compares with the rate of changes in the organization's revenues overall a. compensation metrics should be calculated each year and compared with previous years' metrics. b. compensation metrics should be calculated for regular employees (excluding compensation for part time employees) and compared with previous years' metrics. c. the board of directors should have compensation metrics calculated on a rotating basis: Human value added one year, return on human capital invested the next year, and so forth. This provides the "big picture" strategically. d. total compensation should be charted against total revenues, and any upward change in total compensation should be analyzed.

In severe economic downturns, such as the Great Depression and the current recession, a. pockets of worker shortages exist for certain types of workers. b. worker shortages exist, but only in areas with scarce, high-level skills. c. employers have little concern about retention of employees, because employee have few employment options. d. talent surpluses exist across industries and regions.

Kevin, a junior architect at a large commercial firm, has contracted an aggressive case of cancer. He has had surgery and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, but his outlook for long term survival is poor. Kevin has used all his sick leave and is taking his FMLA leave in one-day increments on Fridays for his chemotherapy. Kevin has lost his hair and looks frail, but he has made all his deadlines with quality work. The senior architect with whom Kevin works has told you, the HR director, that "I can't stand to look at him." The senior architect, a partner in the firm, wants you to remove Kevin from his projects and hire another junior architect in Kevin's place. You have explained that this is not feasible. "Then, terminate Kevin and give him a big severance." As the HR director you know a. since the architecture firm has 21 employees, Kevin is protected under the ADA. b. except for AIDS and HIV, life-threatening illnesses are not considered a disability under the ADA. c. you need to sit down with Kevin and work out a voluntary resignation. His FMLA leave will expire soon. COBRA will extend his health benefits for 18 months, which he is not likely to outlive. d. as an owner of the firm, the senior architect has the final say on whether accommodation for Kevin is reasonable or unreasonable.

Pauline is an employee of a large city. She is the lead negotiator for contracts between the city government and the police and firefighters' unions. Pauline is an HR a. specialist. b. technologist. c. generalist. d. interventionist.

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a. employment outcomes are linked to the victim's granting the harasser sexual favors. b. an intimidating or offensive work environment is created. c. a subordinate voluntarily initiates the offer of sexual favors for the supervisor. d. the victim cannot perform his/her work well due to the harassment.

Quincy had been a high-performing benefits specialist for Mentation Enterprises, Inc. for four years. Then Quincy took a job with a benefits consulting firm at a considerable increase in pay. Now, after two years, Quincy would like to return to Mentation Enterprises. Quincy says that he did not like the 24/7 work schedule of the consulting firm, and that he does not mind the lower salary at Mentation because he will be able to "have a life" in his old job. Quincy will have to sign a confidentiality agreement when he leaves the consulting firm. As the director of HR, a. Quincy is a viable candidate because of his previous high performance record. b. you are not interested in re-hiring Quincy because salary concerns always outweigh work-life balance concerns regardless of what Quincy says. c. you are interested in re-hiring Quincy because you would like to pick his brains for information about the consulting firm's business and operations. d. since Quincy voluntarily left Mentation, rather than being laid-off involuntarily, his loyalty will be questionable.

The "new" psychological contract involves the expectation that employees will provide employers with a. increased productivity. b. permanent organizational membership. c. continuous maximum effort. d. total psychological commitment.

Men have been hit harder by job losses in the recent economic downturn because a. they tend to have higher seniority than women do, so they are laid off first. b. male-employee-dominated sectors such as manufacturing have experienced more severe financial losses than have female-employee-dominated sectors. c. women have been shown to be more productive and motivated employees than men. d. women make up a smaller proportion of senior executives and managers than do men, and downsizing has hit executive and middle-management ranks harder than lower levels in organizations.

Mentoring increases employee retention mainly through a. inspirational leadership. b. career opportunities and development. c. giving new employees a realistic view of the organization. d. psychological ownership.

Michael, the owner of a moving company, has developed a performance appraisal system for his customer representatives and truck drivers. He evaluates each of these employees on accuracy of weight estimates, meeting delivery deadlines, and dollar value of breakage. Michael's performance appraisal system is ____ based. a. trait b. results c. behavior d. productivity

Mimosa Clockworks has found that it has disparate impact in the proportion of Hispanic employees compared to the proportion of Hispanics in its labor market. The director of recruiting for Mimosa Clockworks should a. lower the job specifications for Hispanic applicants. b. begin advertising job openings on the local Spanish language radio station. c. continue its current recruiting practices because only organizations with Affirmative Action Plans are required to meet EEO guidelines. d. freeze hiring until qualified Hispanics apply for positions.

One of the advantages for employees of employee leasing companies is that they a. have employment contracts and are not at-will employees. b. may receive better benefits than they would otherwise get in many small businesses. c. tend to receive higher wages than if they were employed by a small business. d. can be regarded as self-employed for IRS purposes.

One of the performance criteria for a sales representative who covers Saskatchewan as the sole Western Canadian representative is "relationship with co-workers." This criterion results in a performance measure that is a. distorted. b. contaminated. c. deficient. d. objective.

Recruiting and selecting employees for current openings are typical ____ HR activities. a. employee advocacy b. operational c. strategic d. administrative

More than anything else, placement of human resources should be seen as a/an a. public relations activity. b. operating management responsibility. c. matching process. d. marketing tool.

Perspectivo, Inc., is implementing formal strategic planning for the first time. The organizational mission has been clarified, and now the next step in the process will be a. developing supporting functional strategies. b. formulating the organizational strategy. c. analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. d. establishing goals and objectives.

Phrases such as "Greeted customer within 10 seconds of customer's entry into store," and "Failed to greet customer until customer addressed employee," would be typical of a ____ performance appraisal method. a. forced distribution b. a management by objectives c. behaviorally-anchored rating scale d. ranking

Sphere Specialties, Inc., has been experiencing a high level of internal movement of employees. Individuals will be hired in entry level jobs, but within six months, most will have transferred or have been promoted to other positions. This job-changing activity is also high in the middle ranges of the organization. Consequently, there is quite a bit of disruption and down-time as job-changers learn their new duties. In order to retain the benefits of internal selection, but reduce the turmoil, the HR director of Sphere Specialties has proposed a. freezing all internal transfers for one year while employees catch up with their duties. b. filling all job openings through external sources. c. requiring at least one year in the current job before employees can apply for a new internal job. d. moving to a seniority-based promotion system.

Temporary workers, independent contractors, part-timers and leased employees are collectively referred to as a. full-time-equivalent employees. b. virtual employees. c. contingent workers. d. pseudo-employees.

Herbert, the executive vice president of HR for an international bank, has learned that a high-level market specialist has resigned unexpectedly. This specialist makes $250,000 per year in salary. Herbert wonders how he will manage to absorb the cost of this turnover into this year's budget. He estimates using a common rule of thumb, that it will cost the bank as much as ____ to replace this individual. a. $2,500 b. $50,000 c. $250,000 d. $500,000

Recommendations for successful recruiting include all the following processes EXCEPT a. using different recruiting media for different external labor markets. b. measuring the effectiveness of its recruiting efforts. c. using professional and social networking on the Internet as recruiting tools. d. keeping the recruiting function in-house to better mesh recruiting with organizational strategy.

Research has shown that performance-driven organizational cultures a. are based on eliminating differentiations among employees and commitment to equality of rewards for employees. b. is typically welcomed by employees when it is instituted in a formerly entitlement-based organizational culture. c. require behavior-based performance measures. d. tend to have significantly higher financial results compared with other types of organizational cultures.

Research on interviews has consistently found that the ____ interview is more reliable and valid than the others types of interviews. a. sequential b. non-directive c. stress d. structured

Results-based information, used for evaluating performance, a. is effective in promoting ethical behavior since lawsuits and regulatory fines are easy to measure. b. is difficult to use for most jobs since few jobs have observable and measurable results. c. is best used on a group or organization-wide basis since few individual employees have a direct effect on organizational success.. d. may cause difficult-to-measure aspects of the work to be neglected by employees.

Simon is outraged that his co-worker Missy was given a raise. Simon believes Missy got the raise because she married the chairman of the board's son. Simon's sense of ____ has been violated. a. compensatory equity b. distributive justice c. external equity d. procedural justice

Begley Medical Center is recruiting for an oncology nurse practitioner. It would be most effective for Begley Medical Center to advertise a. on a general job board such as Monster. b. on the Begley Medical Center website. c. on the website of the oncology nurse practitioner professional organization. d. on a social networking site such as Facebook.

There are two key reasons why employees want flexible work. One is that their work does not require being in the office all the time. The other is that a. people in the generations following the Baby Boomers have less commitment to work and a lower work ethic. b. many jobs no longer require face-to-face contact with co-workers or clients, so it makes little difference what location the employees work from or what time they are "at work." c. employees are highly involved in community service and leisure pursuits. d. they have long commutes between home and their workplace.

An HR best practice that most directly ties individual behavior to organizational strategy is a. pay for performance. b. stringent hiring standards. c. flexible work arrangements. d. talent development.

Work is defined as a. productive contribution to society either for pay or for personal satisfaction. b. effort directed toward producing or accomplishing results. c. a collection of tasks and duties performed by one person. d. labor directed by others.

Performance measures are said to be ____ if they leave out some important job duties. a. subjective b. contaminated c. deficient d. biased

The management team at Ginx Enterprises is considering opening several branches in European cities. Gina, the vice president of HR, is studying the employment-related laws and regulations of the European Union for all of the following reasons EXCEPT a. to form the basis of training for managers when the branches open. b. to decide which of Ginx Enterprises' current HR policies and practices must be adapted to the European setting. c. to prepare for the turbulent political and legal systems of Europe. d. to learn what legal compliance issues will be involved with the opening of the branches.

Which of the following would be considered a performance standard for a clerk at a movie rental store? a. Stocks coolers of food items and snack racks. b. Operates cash register. c. Greets customer within 15 seconds of entering store. d. Files returned DVDs.

A distinctive, identifiable work activity composed of motions is a a. responsibility. b. job. c. task. d. duty.

As the unemployment rate rises a. the need for overtime also declines. b. voluntary turnover tends to increase. c. people available for work tend to have high qualifications. d. it becomes more difficult to fill jobs with skilled workers.

Gerard has spent the first 15 minutes of his job interview relating his education and work experiences to the interviewer. This is a ____________ interview. a. behavioral b. competency c. biographical d. non-directive

Ultimately, performance management links organizational strategy to organizational a. culture. b. goal setting. c. rewards. d. results.

Which of the following interview questions is MOST useful? a. Do you enjoy challenging work? b. What was your major in college? c. Tell me all about yourself. d. Describe your management style.

Cliff, the HR manager for a small firm, has hired a web designer to add a jobs section to the firm's existing website. Cliff should make sure all the following areas are covered: a. The careers button should be on the home page, with information on jobs no more than three clicks away. b. The advantages of working for the firm should be touted. c. Demographic data such as race, age and gender should be collected on the on-line application form. d. Applicants should be able build a résumé or paste in an existing résumé.

The electrical utility company serving a large Southwestern city is moving from using only traditional sources of electricity to promoting the use of solar and wind power. It is one of the first utilities in the country to move heavily to solar and wind-generated electricity. These are new technologies for the company and the legal regulations applied by the city are in flux as well. As the HR director for the utility company, you a. should hire a headhunter to recruit engineers and technical specialists from other utility companies. b. should target newly-graduated engineers and technical specialists so that new employees are brought in at entry level and are acculturated to the utility's way of doing things. c. should focus on training and development to generate internal candidates for almost all the new positions and new jobs at the utility. d. should plan to do more extensive external recruiting for technical and engineering positions.

The training of raters should center on minimizing rater errors and a. documenting performance information. b. communicating ratings to subordinates. c. counseling subordinates to improve performance. d. identifying essential performance criteria.

72. You are the director of HR for a company that has been stable in size and has had very little turnover in the last 20 years. Consequently, the average age of your employees is 46 and a large proportion of your employees are over 65. You are receiving more frequent requests for accommodation from employees who are developing bad knees, bad hips, bad backs, and other infirmities of age. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The ADA has ruled that the cost of accommodating a disability can be calculated either on a case-by-case basis or on a company laborforce basis. Consequently, a company with a large contingent of disabled employees can deny accommodation on the basis of unreasonable cost. b. The requests for accommodation must be handled under ADA rules. c. If the disabled employee's present job cannot be changed to accommodate his/her disability, he/she must be shifted to another job if one is available. d. If the disabled employee cannot be accommodated in the present job, and no other job is available, the individual could legally be terminated.

A large Japanese semiconductor manufacturer is building a manufacturing plant in rural Texas. The Japanese firm has developed a highly-effective system of motivating employees which results in high productivity and high worker satisfaction. As an HR consultant to the Japanese firm, what should your advice be? a. The Japanese firm should study the local Texas culture and redesign its motivation system for the U.S. plant. b. The Japanese firm can implement the same motivation system in Texas and expect high productivity and high employee satisfaction. c. The rural Texas and Japanese cultures are so different, that there is little likelihood that a Japanese-operated plant in Texas could be successful. d. As long as the Japanese company's motivation system is based on pay-for-performance, the Texas employees will be as productive and satisfied as their Japanese counterparts.

A legitimate concern with diversity programs is that a. they may be perceived as benefiting only certain groups of people and not others. b. diversity is a process to promote social justice, but it does not have offsetting benefits in terms of organizational performance. c. companies with well-known diversity programs tend to have minorities over-represented in their workforces. d. the programs required to include protected groups in the workplace, such as women, involve excessively expensive and disruptive changes to policies and procedures.

A major economic factor in favor of an organization's deciding NOT to outsource U.S. jobs overseas is the a. high levels of American productivity. b. rapidly rising labor costs overseas. c. restrictive U.S. requirements for work permits. d. large tax penalties U.S. firms must pay if they outsource jobs.

A prestigious U.S. university wishes to hire a noted foreign scientist to teach and research in its environmental sciences program. This scientist has unique qualifications and will not displace any U.S. scientist. What must the university do to hire this individual? a. The university must determine the scientist's visa status. b. The employer must persuade a scientific organization to sponsor the scientist. c. The scientist must be investigated and cleared by the Department of Homeland Security, even if the scientist already holds a valid work permit. d. The university will be unable to hire this individual because no "scarce skills" visas are allowed by the IRCA since the Patriot Act was passed after 9/11.

All of the following are potential problems of offshoring operations EXCEPT a. the difficulty of reintegrating the production employees to the U.S. should the offshore location close. b. potential for lower quality production or service-provision by the offshore facility. c. erosion of institutional knowledge in the home country headquarters. d. loss of intellectual talent in the home country headquarters.

All of the following are reasons to have subordinates evaluate the performance of their supervisors EXCEPT a. compensation for managers tends to be more equitable when subordinates have input into these decisions. b. employee ratings can identify competent managers. c. when subordinates rate managers, managers become more responsive to their subordinates. d. subordinates can identify areas for growth for their managers.

All of the following statements are true about team-based performance appraisal EXCEPT a. team performance appraisal is most effective in the administrative aspect of performance management. b. teams tend to avoid awarding individual team members larger or smaller pay increases based on performance. c. team members are often more familiar with a team member's work performance than the supervisor is. d. team members may use the team performance appraisal as a way to attack other team members.

Amanda is applying for a job. She has taken a number of selection tests, but refuses to ____ because this is illegal before she has been given a conditional job offer. a. take a stair-step test for endurance b. take an English fluency test c. demonstrate her ability to use photo editing software d. take an honesty test

Amanda is responding to a job advertisement that describes the company's employees as "crew members." This company probably uses a. work teams. b. project-based work design. c. virtual employees. d. individual productivity bonuses.

Amphityron Services, Inc., is experiencing a decline in sales, revenue and profits which it predicts will be reversed in less than a year. Amphityron doesn't have enough work to keep its highly-skilled, experienced workforce busy. The VP of HR should consider all of the following actions EXCEPT a. taking advantage of the downturn to lay off the highest-paid operating employees. b. suspending 401K contributions until the company returns to profitability. c. instituting temporary across-the-board pay cuts. d. offering employees two unpaid vacation days a month until business picks up.

An analysis is being conducted at YourOneStop Pharmacy to track how prescription orders arrive, how they are logged in, how they are filled, how they are stored, how they are sold to customers, etc. The analysis is considering all the inputs, activities, and outputs associated with the prescription drug business at the store. This is an example of a. workflow analysis. b. business process re-engineering c. job analysis using the PAQ. d. a time-and-motion study.

An appraisal interview technique that encourages employees to identify their own performance deficiencies is termed a/an ____________ approach. a. self-auditing b. confessional c. introspective d. analytic

An artist has been a visiting instructor at a noted art academy for three years. The academy's process for moving a temporary/visiting instructor to regular faculty status is to have the artist's portfolio of work examined by a panel of noted artists who are not affiliated with the academy. This is a version of a/an a. field review. b. external audit. c. body-of-work appraisal. d. team appraisal.

Andrew has informed the director of HR that as of next month, he will be Andrea. Andrew's co-workers are unaware of the upcoming transformation. Andrew has been a high-performing employee at company headquarters for the last nine years. The company specializes in publishing religious materials and an extensive product line for home-schooling. Which of the following options would be UNWISE for the HR director to take? a. The HR director should inform Andrew's manager so that Andrew/Andrea can be transferred from his current client-contact job to another position that does not entail client-contact. b. The HR director should wish Andrew the best of luck and ask if Andrew has any concerns regarding his employment situation. c. The HR director should inform Andrew that federal law requires the individual's birth gender to apply in any sex discrimination case under Title VII. So, Andrea would be considered male under Title VII. d. The HR director should investigate whether the locality has a law protecting transgendered persons from employment discrimination.

Andrew is 59 and has developed some significant, but not life-threatening, health problems. Andrew has good investments and savings, but he needs to continue working until age 65 so that he can have health insurance. Andrew is good at his work, but he is feeling somewhat burned out. He has been volunteering as a mentor for troubled youngsters, and he would like to spend more time with these children. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Andrew would be a good candidate for phased retirement, where his work hours would be reduced along with his paycheck but he would still be an employee. b. Andrew would be better off as an independent contractor for his current employer, because he can write a contract that restricts his hours. c. Andrew should remain a full-time regular employee if he can, because taking phased retirement will remove him from the protection of the ADEA. d. Andrew should remain a regular employee and apply for ADA accommodation. This will ensure him a more comfortable full-time job without endangering his paycheck.

Angela is a self-employed graphic artist. Typically she is hired by companies for special projects that may last anywhere from a week to six months. Angela is a/an a. independent contractor. b. undocumented worker. c. temporary employee. d. self-leasing professional.

Archie is developing performance standards for the job of pediatric nurse practitioner for a pediatrics medical practice. Archie should base these standards directly on a. the pediatric nurse practitioner job description. b. the job specifications for pediatric nurse practitioner. c. benchmark data from other pediatric medical practices. d. the professional guidelines by the pediatric nurse practitioner accreditation organization

As Director of HR, you are designing an ethics program for your organization. You plan to develop a written code of ethics, training for all organizational members, and means for organizational members to obtain advice on ethical situations. What critical element is missing from your plan? a. systems for confidential reporting of misconduct. b. a discipline system for offenders against the code of ethics. c. designating a high-level staff position as an ethics officer. d. ensuring that the organization's code of ethics is not more restrictive than the relevant laws.

As an ambitious young HR professional, you want to advance to the top HR executive position in your organization by having the perspective and expertise to contribute to the strategic planning process. You should a. understand the financial aspects of your organization and its key drivers of business success. b. hone your skills in a technical HR area such as compensation or HR information systems. c. become an expert in legal analysis because most HR functions are driven by employment and labor law. d. ask to be transferred into areas of the organization that are proven training grounds for top executives, such as finance and marketing.

As director of HR you are reviewing the statistics for this year's college recruiting. At one state university, of 50 college seniors interviewed you made job offers to 10 students. At a large private university, of 20 students interviewed, you made job offers to 2 students. Based just on this information, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Cost per hire is greater for the state university than for the private university. b. The yield ratio for the state university is higher than the yield ratio for the private university. c. The state university graduates were expected to have a higher success base rate than the private university graduates. d. Acceptance rates cannot be calculated from this data.

As director of HR, you have decided to implement a multisource rating system for employee performance. The employee population for which you will use this system numbers about 1,000, with an average of 15 employees in each work unit. Which of the following statements is likely to be TRUE? a. You will need to implement this as a Web-based system. b. This system will be most useful for making compensation decisions affecting employees. c. There will be fewer problems with rater bias because individual biases "wash out" statistically when there are multiple raters. d. Employees tend to rate co-workers more harshly than they rate themselves, so performance ratings will need to be adjusted for rating deflation.

As part of affirmative action efforts a. employers set goals and timetables for reducing the gaps between the demographics of the workforce and the demographics of the organization. b. employers establish mandatory hiring quotas for under-represented protected classes. c. the OFCCP will order an injunction preventing the organization from hiring majority employees until the required demographic balance is achieved. d. the EEOC will allow the employer to continue taking federal contracts even though the organization's demographics are out of balance with the workforce.

As the vice-president of HR for Woodmere Production, Inc., you are presenting a proposal to Woodmere's top management for outsourcing many of your department's administrative HR functions to vendors. You argue that HR vendors have greater expertise than your in-house staff and that outsourcing will allow you to spend more time on the strategic aspects of HR. But, another key selling-point to top management will be a. the reduction in labor costs in the HR department. b. the prestige of retaining a world-class vendor. c. the ability to have closer contact with HR's true clients, the employees. d. improvement in morale of HR staff.

At Decahedron Software, Inc., appraisals for non-technical employees are conducted annually. Technical employees receive evaluations every six months. This is probably because the technical employees a. have many job opportunities and semiannual evaluations allows for raises every six months as a retention tool. b. need more performance guidance from their managers than do non-technical employees. c. tend to be younger employees who require more intense management attention. d. have shorter developmental cycles than non-technical employees because technology changes so rapidly in the software industry.

Because of its cutting-edge technical processes, the CEO of Pro-X Components, Inc., has told the Miguel, the HR director, that Miguel must attract "the cream of the crop" for all scientific job openings in the company. Miguel needs to do all of the following to attract the best new university graduates and top young scientists , EXCEPT a. offer the top people on the market independent contractor positions. b. develop a positive brand image for the organization. c. recruit nationally and, perhaps, globally. d. maintain a continuous recruiting presence at the top universities

Beyond the upfront costs, voluntary separation programs often have the following drawback a. some employees with needed skill sets will take the voluntary separation option. b. the method is viewed as less "humane" than layoffs with severance pay. c. this method is often too slow to generate a large number of immediate separations. d. the enhancement of the paternalistic culture of the organization leads employees to feel a sense of entitlement

Carlos, the director of HR for a large paper manufacturing company, is studying the financial costs of turnover of plant personnel at all levels. The easily calculable costs are sobering, but Carlos is also concerned about the hidden costs of turnover including a. missed project deadlines. b. co-worker coaching and salaries. c. the cost of pre-employment medical tests. d. the overtime for employees covering the separated employees' jobs.

Carrie has phoned an applicant's former supervisor for a reference. The supervisor refuses to give any information about the former employee. What mistake may Carrie have made? a. She did not get a signed consent form from the applicant releasing the former supervisor from liability. b. She limited her request for information to dates of employment, positions, held and the applicant's previous job title rather than asking for particular examples of good or poor performance. c. She contacted the supervisor by phone rather than in writing or via email, thus opening the supervisor to a charge of slander by the applicant. d. Former supervisors rarely provide useful information, so it is not an effective use of Carrie's time to pursue this contact.

Clement, the director of HR for a large advertising and public relations firm with multiple global locations, is facing all of the following situations. All of these situations will decrease the accuracy of his estimate of the internal supply of labor for various jobs at the firm EXCEPT a. more female college graduates are being hired. b. layoffs have occurred in several locations. c. backup candidates for promotion move to competitor firms or start their own firms. d. fewer employees take retirement than expected.

Cliff has about 10 years of HR experience and has recently earned his professional certification. He is searching for a job in an organization that takes a strategic approach to HR. Key phrases that Cliff is looking for in organizational informational materials describing the competencies the hiring organization wants in new HR professionals include all of the following EXCEPT a. administrative expert. b. change steward. c. business ally. d. talent manager.

Decisions that affect the applicant population include all of the following EXCEPT a. the required yield ratio from recruiting efforts. b. recruiting method. c. timing of recruiting efforts. d. applicant qualifications required.

During an economic downturn, resources (including workers and potential workers) are a. under-utilized, and organizations seek to increase productivity and lower costs. b. are in short supply, and organizations may be hampered in their ability to grow. c. in over-supply, with the massive numbers of job-seekers making difficult for organizations to locate the most qualified available applicants. d. a glut on the market, which results in inflationary pressures on wages and resource prices.

During the performance appraisal process, employees tend to focus on a. whether they will get a raise or not. b. the emotional content of their supervisor's communications. c. their areas of weaknesses as shown by the performance appraisal. d. the suggestions for future development contained in the performance appraisal.

Emil is the assistant HR manager at a commercial construction company. Emil handles almost every aspect of human resources at the company, from employee questions about benefits to holding exit interviews. Emil is an HR a. generalist. b. specialist. c. technologist. d. unit manager.

Erica is in client relations for a large financial services firm in Atlanta. Her job is being changed from working with local clients to a telecommuting position where she will work largely from her home office. She is being assigned clients in Korea, India, Britain and Brazil. Although Erica can see many advantages of this change, she is also concerned about negative effects. All of the following are potential negative effects of telecommuting EXCEPT: a. loss of autonomy. b. working excessively. c. managing differences in time zones. d. increase in stress.

From the employee's point of view, the traditional psychological contract has changed mainly because of a. organizational downsizing and the layoff of long-term loyal employees. b. the transition of the U.S. economy from a manufacturing to an information-based economy. c. declining real pay which has not kept up with the cost of living. d. employers favoring younger, less-expensive Generation X and Y employees over the more highly-paid Baby Boomers and Matures.

Henry, a manager for a floor covering manufacturing firm, is attending a presentation by a consultant discussing needed changes in operations to apply information gathered in workflow analysis regarding product development, customer service and service delivery. "Looks like the company is implementing ____." Henry thinks to himself. a. re-engineering b. outsourcing c. job redesign d. workforce reductions

How is O*Net useful to a manager or HR specialist? a. It is a time-saving resource for writing job descriptions and typical job specifications. b. It can eliminate the need to conduct a job analysis in a small organization. c. The O*Net can be used as a recruiting tool because it includes a national database of job-seekers classified by occupational category. d. Because it has been compiled by the Department of Labor, firms using the O*Net are protected from job-related employee lawsuits.

If accommodating a disabled person imposes significant difficulty or expense on an employer, the employer a. can claim undue hardship exists. b. may apply for federal grant money to make the accommodation. c. will be responsible for finding alternate work for the disabled person. d. may reduce the salary of the disabled person to compensate

If an organization decides to implement changes in organizational practices to improve retention of valued employees, the changes should be a. pilot tested in a limited area to see if they are effective. b. implemented in the departments least likely to have negative consequences. c. should be implemented simultaneously across the organization. d. initially implemented in the departments with the worst retention problems.

If women are underutilized as store managers in a national retail chain, this means that a. there is a larger proportion of women qualified to be store managers in the labor force than the proportion of women who are store managers for the company. b. the OFCCP will require the company to institute a company-wide affirmative action plan. c. the percentage of women who are store managers is lower than the proportion of women who are store clerks in this company. d. more than half the store managers are men

Important factors that affect retention of employees in the workplace include all the following EXCEPT a. an undemanding job. b. safe working environment. c. modern equipment and technology. d. good physical working conditions.

In Washington v. Davis a. since the reading comprehension test contained actual material that the applicants would have to learn during a training program, the fact that fewer women and minorities passed the test did not result in illegal discrimination. b. fewer women and minorities passed a reading comprehension test. If this test had been designed with the intent to discriminate, this would be a case of disparate impact. c. if the police department had required a high school diploma as evidence of reading skills, instead of the reading comprehension test, the police department would not have been vulnerable to a charge of discrimination against women and minorities. d. the plaintiffs had the burden of proof to show that the reading comprehension test did not support a business necessity.

In mergers and acquisitions, the HR planning process begins with a. conducting due diligence. b. addressing key HR processes.. c. analyzing the internal inventory of HR capabilities. d. optimizing the workforce.

In order for employee performance data to be evaluated as evidence of good or poor performance, a. it is necessary for performance standards to be developed. b. the performance data must be quantifiable. c. a specific action plan for performance improvement must result. d. multiple sources of performance data must be combined.

In order to add value to the human capital of the organization, a. HR must have good metrics about the HR side of the business. b. HR managers must be focused on reducing the total cost of labor. c. the HR function must form the interface between the external environment of the organization and its internal environment. d. HR policies and practices should result in the workforce with the minimum quantity and maximum quality needed to achieve productivity goals.

In organizations, in order to decide whether certain behavior is ethical or not, a person must answer all the following questions EXCEPT a. Does this behavior conform to typical behavior by employees of competing organizations? b. Does this behavior meet all applicable laws, regulations, and government codes? c. Does this behavior meet organizational standards? d. Does this behavior meet professional standards?

In the building trades, unions can benefit employers by providing a. apprenticeship programs. b. performance history for job applicants. c. pre-screening for job seekers. d. competitive wage scales for jobs.

Individual capabilities that can be linked to enhanced performance by individuals or teams, are called a. competencies. b. talents. c. KSAs. d. abilities.

Information that can be helpful in distinguishing between jobs in a job analysis include all of the following EXCEPT a. the social prestige of the job. b. interactions the job holder must have with others. c. the financial impact of the job on the organization. d. the working conditions of the job.

Ivan is an outstanding performer who was provided to the firm by a temporary service firm two months ago. Ivan's manager would like to hire Ivan as a regular employee and she has come to you, the HR director, to make this request. You realize that a. the temporary agency contract requires the company to pay a placement fee if Ivan is hired as a regular employee b. Ivan's performance will probably decrease if he is hired as a regular employee because his high performance was likely an "audition effect." c. Ivan will be less expensive as a regular employee than as a temporary employee because temporary employees typically receive a 20% wage premium to offset the lack of benefits. d. your employer is ethically bound not to hire temporary employees provided by an agency for regular employment.

Jill graduated with her MBA during a severe economic recession in the region. The only acceptable job she could find was in a bank officer training program for a major national bank. Jill was one of the top candidates when she was hired by the bank. She has been with the bank for three months and has become disillusioned with it. Jill feels that the individual bank customers are not valued, that the bank refuses loans to small business borrowers who are good risks, and that the bank engages in misleading advertising. Jill is experiencing a. poor person-organization fit. b. a realistic job preview. c. the result of negligent selection by the bank. d. poor person-job fit.

___ occurs when individuals who quit, die or retire are not replaced. a. Attrition b. Voluntary separation c. Workforce depletion d. A hiring freeze

Job analysis is a systematic way to a. gather and analyze information about the content, context and human requirements of jobs. b. analyze the distinct, identifiable work activities involved in a specific job classification. c. evaluate the quality of job performance of employees in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency. d. break down jobs into their component parts in readiness for business process re-engineering..

Job enlargement involves a. broadening the scope of a job by expanding the number of different tasks to be performed. b. increasing the depth of a job to provide more autonomy. c. increasing the amount of impact the job has on other people. d. shifting a person from job to job to increase variety.

John took early retirement last year at age 58. Now his former employer wants to rehire John as an independent consultant. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The employer is violating the ADEA because it is hiring John to do the same work that he did as an employee, but without paying for his health benefits and other benefits provided to regular employees. b. Re-hiring retirees is a common practice, because it retains their experience and expertise within the firm. c. John is more likely to have a job offer from his former employer than if he searches for a job with different employers where he may be viewed a "overqualified" or encounter other forms of age discrimination. d. If John accepts a contract with his old employer, he will not have the same protection from discrimination that he did as an employee.

Justine, VP of HR for Perspectivo, Inc., is concerned that key talent at Vanishing Point, a recently-acquired competitor, will quit. She plans to institute all of the following programs to help retain these employees EXCEPT a. giving across-the-board bonuses to all Vanishing Point employees who stay with Prospectivo for one year. b. giving retention bonuses to key Vanishing Point employees. c. giving key Vanishing Point employees special assignments. d. setting up employee hotlines for Vanishing Point employees who have questions and concerns about the acquisition.

Mark was terminated because his poor client relations skills resulted in a major client leaving the firm for a competitor. This is an example of a. involuntary turnover. b. a voluntary separation. c. uncontrollable turnover. d. dysfunctional turnover.

Maxster, Inc., has a long-standing problem with theft from its warehouses. The director of HR is considering how she can identify applicants who are honest. All of the following are possible steps the director can take EXCEPT a. give polygraph tests after conditional job offers are made, since Maxster has legal "cause" because of its history of employee theft. b. ask the applicants if they have been convicted of felonies. c. have a background checking firm investigate applicants' backgrounds after a conditional job offer is made. d. have all applicants take an honesty test after warning them that faking can be detected and will eliminate them from consideration for employment.

Measures of quality of applicants generated by recruiting efforts include all of the following EXCEPT a. achieving the required yield ratios. b. sales volume per new hire. c. performance appraisal scores for each new hire. d. months until promotion of new hires.

Of the following performance appraisal systems, the ones most likely to be the subject of a discrimination lawsuit is/are a. the forced distribution system. b. systems based on critical incidents. c. systems using behaviorally-anchored rating scales. d. systems using numerical measures of performance.

Organizations have found that high voluntary employee turnover rates in the first few months of employment is often linked to a. mismatch of employee expectations and organizational reality. b. noncompetitive pay scales and/or inadequate benefits. c. poor initial job performance. d. disillusionment with the organizational culture.

Paula is the vice president for HR of PrairieBelle Foods. It has just acquired Mountain Mills. Paula will oversee considerable layoffs as the company lays off redundant employees. In considering HR planning for the next year, Paula knows to be prepared for a. a decline in morale of remaining employees. b. an upsurge in applications for jobs from external candidates.. c. heightened productivity by survivors. d. increase in creativity and innovation among employees.

Peter Whimsey and Associates uses a private employment agency to locate engineering staff. Whimsey pays a set fee to the employment agency when hires are made from candidates it provides. Whimsey is using a a. contingency firm. b. retainer firm. c. fee-for-service firm. d. professional society.

____ is the extent to which a predictor repeatedly produces the same results, over time. a. Reliability b. Test validity c. Consistency d. Predictability

The COO of a nursing home chain is having lunch with the director of HR. Turnover of employees in the lower-skilled jobs is very high. The COO remarks bitterly that these employees "will abandon ship for a measly dollar an hour. They have no loyalty to us." As HR director, you reply a. since pay at this company runs 18% below market, high turnover rates are unavoidable. b. we need to implement more generous benefits to retain these employees. c. we must be more selective in the people we hire in these positions. d. this information is probably an artifact of the exit interviews and that the real reason for turnover lies elsewhere.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act a. prohibits polygraph use for pre-employment screening purposes by most employers. b. prohibits private sector employers from using polygraph tests under any circumstances. c. prohibits government agencies from using polygraph tests except in circumstances where national security is involved. d. permits the use of polygraphs, but only when administered by a trained expert.

The Equal Pay Act, enacted in 1963, requires employers to a. pay similar wage rates for similar work without regard to gender. b. establish pay rates based upon merit rather than seniority. c. conduct wage and salary surveys to ensure pay equity. d. ensure that older employees are not discriminated against in compensation.

The HR Best Practices case regarding hiring of veterinarians at USDA focuses on how the agency was able to increase its recruiting success. All of the following were successful tactics used by the USDA in improving its recruiting EXCEPT a. giving recruiters a bonus per hire. b. a monetary hiring incentive for veterinarians joining the USDA. c. more flexible work scheduling. d. more telework opportunities.

The HR planning process begins with a. reviewing the organizational strategic planning objectives. b. scanning the external environment for changes affecting the labor supply. c. analyzing the internal inventory of HR capabilities. d. forecasting the relationship between supply and demand for human resources.

The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) focuses on the ____ elements that describe behaviors necessary to do the job. a. worker-oriented b. organization-oriented c. market-oriented d. job-oriented

The ____ allows victims of intentional discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, or disability to receive both compensatory and punitive damages. a. Civil Rights Act of 1991 b. Americans with Disabilities Act c. Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964 d. Executive Order 11246

The ____ equals the number of persons hired divided by the number of applicants. a. selection rate b. success base rate c. yield ratio d. acceptance rate

The ____ includes all individuals available for selection, if all possible recruitment strategies are used. a. labor force population b. external labor market c. recruitment pool d. applicant population

The ____ section of the job description gives the job title, reporting relationships, department, location, and date of analysis. a. identification b. general summary c. essential functions and duties d. specification requirements

The ____ sponsors the most well-known certification program for HR generalists. a. Human Resource Certification Institute b. International Personnel Management Association c. World at Work Association d. American Society for Training and Development

The employee selection process mostly affects retention through a. job/person match. b. the mentoring new employees receive from their first boss. c. opportunities for employee advancement within the firm. d. the motivation potential of the job.

The extent to which employees feel linked to organizational success and how the organization performs positively is termed a. employee engagement. b. employee performance motivation. c. employee morale. d. employee organizational commitment.

The extent to which the work requires several different activities for successful completion indicates its a. skill variety. b. multi-tasking demands. c. low task identity. d. high autonomy.

The key factor underlying the management by objectives approach is that a. the manager and subordinate work together to develop the goals. b. the manager has close and daily access to the subordinate in order to monitor his/her progress. c. the goals are subjective and intangible. d. the goals will push the subordinate to the very highest limits of his/her abilities.

The main considerations in determining whether a task is an essential function or a marginal function of the job include all of the following EXCEPT a. the number of employees performing the task. b. the percentage of time spent on the task. c. frequency of the task. d. importance of the task.

The most basic building block of HR management functions is a. job analysis. b. organizational culture. c. the human capital of the firm. d. job design.

The most crucial component for diversity programs in organizations to succeed is a. the support of top management. b. governmental enforcement agencies that actively pursue EEO complaints. c. a minority community that is committed to achieving success based on individual merits. d. an organizational culture of performance-based rewards.

The roles played by HR management in the firm are being affected by all of the following EXCEPT a. the shift from a service economy to a manufacturing economy. b. the globalization of business. c. cost reduction pressures. d. an aging workforce.

The vice president of HR for a large magazine publisher is creating an internship program for students in journalism and communication university degree programs. All of the following should be included in the internship program EXCEPT a. providing interns full employee benefits during their internship. b. requiring meaningful work from the interns. c. providing performance feedback. d. treating the interns as though they are employees regarding workspace, tools and Internet access.

Three factors (individual ability, effort level expended and organizational support) are the components of a. individual performance. b. efficiency of production. c. organizational effectiveness. d. employee motivation

Through the ____ function, HR management provides the organization with a sufficient supply of qualified individuals to fill the jobs in the organization. a. staffing b. equal employment opportunity c. talent management d. employee and labor relations

To avoid a charge of retaliation against employees who file discrimination charges the organization must do all of the following EXCEPT a. instruct supervisors that any discipline or warnings against an employee who has filed a discrimination case should be verbal and not documented. b. take appropriate action if supervisors retaliate against employees who file a discrimination complaint. c. thoroughly investigate any claims of retaliation. d. train supervisors what retaliation consists of.

Tuition aid programs do not improve retention of employees in the organization unless a. employers allow employees to use their new capabilities within the organization. b. employees are required to pay back tuition expenses if they leave the organization within five years. c. employers give employees significant raises when they graduate. d. the education is directly applicable to the employee's current job.

Vendome Products will have a labor surplus of 15% in its non-exempt employee ranks next year because of decreases in sales of its major product line. Vendome will need to consider all of the following alternatives EXCEPT a. transferring non-exempt employees working on this product line into exempt-level jobs at Vendome. b. workforce reductions of non-exempt employees working on this product line. c. cutting wages or hours for non-exempt employees working on this product line. d. not replacing non-exempt employees working on this product line who leave Vendome voluntarily

What can a recruiter learn from calculating the acceptance rate? a. whether recruiters can "close the deal" with top candidates b. the proportion of candidates who are of acceptable quality c. the cost effectiveness of the organization's recruiting efforts d. the competitiveness of the organization's salary structure

What is the main purpose of an applicant flow form? a. to report applicant demographic data to the EEOC. b. to document that the employer asked each applicant to voluntarily provide demographic data. c. to use protected class status to make hiring decisions d. to collect EEO data that the applicant is required by law to provide

What is the purpose of developmental feedback? a. to plan for the employee's future opportunities inside the organization b. to motivate employees to perform at a higher level c. to compare individuals' performance with once another d. to assure that employees know the reasons for changes in their compensation

When applying for a job as a history instructor at local college, Catherine was required to teach a class of sophomores on a history topic of her choosing. This is an example of a a. work sample. b. situational judgment test. c. behavioral interview. d. realistic job preview..

When interviewing an applicant for a position as financial director of the city's symphony orchestra, the recruiter is strongly impressed by the fact that the applicant was a professional musician with a prestigious European orchestra for 10 years. The recruiter is suffering from the a. halo effect. b. cultural noise. c. favorable emphasis. d. the dominant trait error.

Which is not one of the major challenges currently facing HR managers? a. motivating employees without pay raises and promotions b. changing federal, state and local legal requirements c. adjusting benefit programs due to increasing costs d. replacing "baby boomers" as they exit the workplace

Which of the following HR activities is MOST likely to be outsourced successfully? a. 401k administration b. risk management c. union contract negotiations d. performance management

Which of the following is NOT a major HR concern of small businesses? a. potential unionization efforts b. shortages of qualified workers c. compliance with government regulations d. increasing benefits costs

Which of the following is NOT a recommendation to employers as a means of guarding against pay inequities between men and women? a. Ensure that the average pay of women in each job grade is within 10% of the average pay of men in that job grade. b. Make sure all employees, including managers, know how the company's pay practices work. c. Base pay on the value of jobs and individual employee performance. d. Benchmark pay against local and national markets.

Which of the following is characteristic of graphic rating scales? a. Descriptive words used may have different meanings to different raters. b. Graphic rating scales are difficult to develop. c. Raters typically try to place the same number of employees at each level of scale. d. Raters can use these scales without training because they are self-explanatory.

Which of the following is true of the Position Analysis Questionnaire? a. It consists of checklists pertaining to job dimensions. b. It must be administered by an SME (Subject Matter Expert). c. It focuses on job-oriented elements of the technical aspects of the work. d. It is one of the most time-consuming methods of gathering job data.

____ means that the employer or applicant has the right to terminate an employee at any time with or without notice or cause (except where prevented by law). a. Employment-at-will b. Right-of-dismissal c. Free agency d. Contingency employment

Which of the following statements about religious expression in the workplace is TRUE? a. Discriminatory practices subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act extend to holiday office decorations, food served in the company cafeteria, and employee attire and grooming. b. Employers must accommodate all of the religious practices of any employee. Otherwise, they are liable to have violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. c. Religious speech, including proselytizing for new converts, is protected in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. d. Common religious practices of mainstream religions, such as reading an inspirational passage from the New Testament, before an important business meeting are not covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Which of the following statements about using the Internet for recruiting is FALSE? Internet recruiting a. makes EEO record-keeping more simple. b. allows some of the selection process be conducted virtually. c. easily allows nationwide and global recruiting. d. can target specific audiences.

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding informal appraisals? a. Frequent informal feedback to employees can prevent surprises later when the formal evaluation is communicated. b. Well-done and frequent informal appraisals are more easily defended in court than traditional annual performance appraisals. c. Frequent informal performance appraisal can make an annual formal performance appraisal unnecessary. d. The day-to-day working relationship between a manager and an employee is disrupted by unscheduled informal appraisals, so these should be minimized.

Which of the following statements is TRUE with regard to sexual orientation and gay rights? a. The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided whether gay men and lesbians have rights under the equal protection amendment to the U.S. Constitution. b. Transvestites are considered disabled under the ADA. c. Federal law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. d. State and city laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation have typically been held invalid by the individual state supreme courts.

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. A company may require applicants to take a drug test even before a conditional job offer has been made. b. A pre-employment health checklist can be required of applicants before a job offer is made, but physical medical exams cannot be made until after a conditional job offer. c. A drug test is considered a medical exam and cannot be administered unless a conditional job offer has been made. d. Companies may ask questions about the job applicant's current medical condition, but not past medical problems.

Which of the following was identified as an organizational problem that often occurs as part of the job analysis process? a. inflation of the importance of the incumbent's job b. non-reporting by employees of extra duties they have taken on beyond their job description c. a focus on the job, rather than on the job incumbent d. an over-emphasis on the legal concerns

Which of the following would be defined as retaliation under EEO laws? a. A hospital demotes a radiology technician who has complained about ethnic discrimination. b. An employer fires a supervisor who discriminates against a protected-class member. c. A dismissed employee files a false complaint of discrimination against his former employer with the EEOC. d. The EEOC targets an employer with a history of unlawful discrimination.

Why should employers use attitude surveys? a. to reveal which HR activities are viewed positively or negatively b. to identify employees who are unmotivated and/or likely to quit c. as a psychological tool to assure employees that the employer cares about their opinions d. to identify jobs that can be eliminated or automated

With regard to exit interviews, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Consultants are usually hired to conduct exit interviews due to the high emotional levels and security issues connected with them. b. Departing employees often will not divulge the true reasons for their quitting the organization. c. It is often more useful to contact departing employees a month or so after departure when they may be more willing to provide information. d. Exit interview follow-ups can aid re-hiring of employees whose turnover was dysfunctional from the employer's perspective.

With respect to observation as a job analysis technique, a. the method is limited to jobs that have a complete and observable job cycle. b. the job incumbent should be unaware that he/she is being observed, otherwise the incumbent's behavior will not be normal. c. almost all traditional jobs can be analyzed with this technique. d. in order to be valid and reliable, observation must be continuous, not based on sampling.

You are the director of HR for a company that has been stable in size and has had very little turnover in the last 20 years. Consequently, the average age of your employees is 46 and a large proportion of your employees are over 65. You are receiving more frequent requests for accommodation from employees who are developing bad knees, bad hips, bad backs, and other infirmities of age. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The ADA has ruled that the cost of accommodating a disability can be calculated either on a case-by-case basis or on a company laborforce basis. Consequently, a company with a large contingent of disabled employees can deny accommodation on the basis of unreasonable cost. b. The requests for accommodation must be handled under ADA rules. c. If the disabled employee's present job cannot be changed to accommodate his/her disability, he/she must be shifted to another job if one is available. d. If the disabled employee cannot be accommodated in the present job, and no other job is available, the individual could legally be terminated.

You have been hired to be the manager of a firm's central employment office. Among your duties, you expect to supervise all of the following processes EXCEPT a. requisitioning employees with specific qualifications to fill jobs. b. referring top candidates to managers. c. maintaining records. d. conducting background investigations.

76. The new CEO of the firm has told the vice president of HR that all HR activities must use the cost of capital as the benchmark against which their the returns from the activities are measured. The new CEO is implementing a. the balanced scorecard b. human economic value added (HEVA). c. return on investment (ROI). d. return on assets (ROA).

A "structural mismatch" between workers and jobs means that a. unemployed workers with needed skills are located in different geographic regions of the country than where economic growth is occurring. b. workers do not have the skills needed for the current needs of the economy. c. there is a difference between an organization's existing workforce and the workforce it needs for competitive success. d. the failure of an organization's HR function to predict talent surplus or shortage.

A bona fide occupational qualification for the job of truck driver for a beer distributing company would include all of the following EXCEPT a. possession of a commercial driver's license. b. a bachelor's degree in any field. c. the ability to lift a minimum of fifty pounds. d. basic literacy.

A large nursery and garden center specializes in a wide variety of trees, landscaping plants and vegetables for a well-to-do clientele focused on high-quality, unusual plants. The CEO wants to encourage the garden center employees to be highly client-centered, familiar with the nursery's inventory, and extremely knowledgeable about plants. The type of job analysis that would promote the CEO's goals would be a. task-based job analysis. b. competency-based job analysis. c. Functional Job Analysis. d. Position Analysis Questionnaire method.

A retail pharmacy chain is experiencing low profitability. It is looking into ways to cut costs. One of the members of the executive committee suggests reducing the number of pharmacists on staff, since they are the most highly-paid of the store employees. As director of HR, you are most concerned whether this move would a. meet short-term goals for cost-savings. b. be effective in meeting organizational objectives in the long run. c. invalidate the firm's management succession plans. d. be consistent with the organizational culture.

A/an ____ is a selection and development device composed of a series of evaluative exercises and tests in which candidates are evaluated by a panel of trained raters. a. career potential evaluation b. assessment center c. multi-faceted selection process d. work simulation

All of the following are advantages of employee databases EXCEPT a. employees can post their career plans and preferences. b. employee KSAs and protected class status can be posted publicly on the company intranet for managers to examine. c. qualified internal candidates for openings can be quickly identified and contacted. d. it is easy to detect gaps in the organization's succession plans for critical jobs.

All of the following are developmental uses for performance appraisals EXCEPT a. selection of training seminars for a particular employee for the upcoming year. b. prioritizing employees for layoffs of various sizes. c. identification of jobs to which the employee could be promoted. d. counseling the employee in more effective interpersonal relations.

All of the following are drawbacks of promoting from within EXCEPT a. when an internal candidate in promoted, it causes a cascade of vacancies within the firm.. b. internal recruiting costs tend to be higher than external recruiting costs because of the extensive databases and employee skills inventories required.. c. if the current workforce lacks diversity, EEO problems may be perpetuated. d. an employee's good performance on one job may not be a good predictor of his/her performance on another job.

All of the following are examples of enriching a job EXCEPT a. allowing a component-assembler to work without close supervision. b. assigning grocery store employees to cashier positions one month, stocking positions another month, and general maintenance positions another month with no change in pay. c. giving daily work station production reports to an assembly line worker at that station. d. assigning one hospital staff member to an in-patient's entire movement throughout the hospital.

All of the following are typical advantages of diverse work teams EXCEPT a. increased employee learning. b. reduction in co-worker conflict. c. higher levels of task-relevant knowledge. d. more employee involvement.

All of the following should be included as replacement costs when calculating the cost of turnover for middle-management jobs EXCEPT a. advertising expenses. b. college campus recruiting. c. reduced productivity. d. HR staff time.

All of the following statements about business process reengineering are true EXCEPT a. BPR may have negative impacts on the organization's employees. b. BPR applies to manufacturing industries rather than to the service sector, which uses the "enterprise management improvement" method instead. c. an organization that implements BPR can expect to experience radical redesign of its business processes, rather than incremental improvements. d. the purpose of BPR is to achieve dramatic changes in cost, quality, speed and service

An organizational team formed to address specific problems, improve work processes, and enhance product and service quality, is called a a. task force. b. special-purpose team. c. standing committee. d. self-directed work team.

Angelo is a native-born U.S. citizen. He speaks Italian, English, and French fluently. He has lived and worked in both Italy and France and has an MBA from a prestigious U.S. university. Angelo's friends describe him as "incredibly cosmopolitan" and a person who "blends in like a native wherever he is." Angelo would probably be a good candidate for a company looking to build its international business using ______________. a. global technical experts. b. expatriate employees. c. an ethnocentric approach. d. host-country nationals.

Anthony was interviewing an applicant to be a volunteer docent (instructor and tour guide) for a large art museum. The applicant began to discuss her interest in introducing young children to museum-quality art. Anthony followed up with several questions about how young children react to art, why she felt early exposure to art was important, and how she would design situations for children to experience art. Anthony was conducting a ____ interview. a. situational b. non-directive c. probing d. structured

As a senior member of the HR department at TransOceanic Industries, Abigail realizes that the firm's upcoming merger with its main competitor, Amorphous Sea Ventures, will result in challenges in the year ahead. Abigail a. recognizes that cultural clashes will be minimal since TransOceanic and Amorphous are in the same industry and have similar product lines. b. realizes that she needs to design programs for retaining key talent in the aftermath of the merger. c. anticipates that the two HR departments will continue separate operations since TransOceanic and Amorphous have much different HR systems. d. there will be a reduction in voluntary turnover at executive levels as key employees engage in a power struggle.

As the director of HR for a manufacturer of natural and organic cosmetics, you are weighing the request by one of your HR staff for the company to pay for her to become a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS). This will involve paying for educational programs and materials, testing fees,and giving her time off to take the exam. This staff member is in her late 50s and has been with your firm for about fifteen years. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Paying for employee development beyond what is necessary to perform her current job well will be cost-effective, especially if there are advancement opportunities for her in the future. b. The employee's demographics indicate that she is likely to leave the firm or become less productive in the net few years, so investment in her future development is not cost-effective. c. Paying for the employee's CEBS preparation will make her more marketable, but not necessarily more likely to leave for another firm. d. Paying for the employee's CEBS accreditation will probably increase her job satisfaction and influence her to stay with the firm.

As the new director of HR for Mimosa Enterprises, you are examining the recruiting statistics for the organization. You find that the success base rate for chemical engineers is very low. This means that a. the top engineers in the applicant pool turn down Mimosa's job offers. b. most of the engineers hired by Mimosa turn out to be poor performers. c. Mimosa is not investing enough in its recruiting process. d. the job specifications for chemical engineers at Mimosa are so high that a large number of applicants must be screened in order to successfully hire a qualified individual.

At Ochre Automobile Insurance, the job of appraiser involves spending 40 percent of the time conducing "drive-by" assessments of the damage to policy-holders' vehicles. This task would be considered a/an a. performance standard. b. essential job function. c. job element. d. primary duty.

Which of the following is NOT a personal characteristic associated with success in an overseas assignment? a. conflict resolution abilities b. low tolerance of ambiguity c. comfort with taking risks d. strong stress coping skills

Beth, the employee development manager at Orcho Dynamics, wants to generate metrics that will help her analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's development programs. Which of the following metrics would be most useful for Beth? a. HR expenses per FTE b. positions in the organization filled internally c. average tenure of employees d. performance quality of employees in their first year

Between now and 2016 the largest number of new jobs in the U.S. will be in a. healthcare. b. food-service. c. professional occupations. d. information technology.

Beverly, a child care supervisor at a children's hospital in a large urban area, communicates on a daily basis with other employees and community contacts through tweets, texts and blogs. She sends positive news and updates about the activities of the hospital. This social networking is not part of her formal job responsibilities. We can say that Beverly is probably a. exposing the hospital to violation of privacy lawsuits and should be prohibited from this networking. b. highly engaged with the organization. c. looking for excuses to avoid working. d. a contingent employee trying to impress her boss so that she will be moved to regular employee status.

COBRA is a lifeline for employees who have been laid off because a. it continues the employee's medical benefits for up to 18 months at the employer's expense. b. the employee is able to continue medical benefits for at least 18 months if he/she pays the cost of the insurance. c. it allows employees to buy into the Medicaid program for up to 18 months. d. it transfers the employee's medical benefits from the employer's group policy to an insurance exchange for a discounted fee for up to 18 months.

Changes in U.S. demographics affects all of the following EXCEPT a. consumer demand for products and services. b. employee desire to have traditional, stable workplace policies and practices. c. the need for creative and flexible management. d. the number and quality of potential employees.

Clement is the recruiting specialist for an online retailing company in a mid-sized Missouri town. He has used every type of recruiting technique available to him to fill nineteen job openings. After all his efforts have been exhausted, exactly nineteen applicants with the minimum qualifications have been found. In this case, a. the yield ratio will be 50%. b. a selection process is not necessary. c. Clement's efforts have been successful because he managed to find an applicant for each opening. d. the labor market in this area can be described as "loose."

Common difficulties with team appraisals include all of the following EXCEPT a. some employees may use the appraisal as an excuse to attack a team member. b. team members feel the supervisor is abdicating his/her responsibility to make tough decisions. c. team members may "go easy" on their colleagues to spare feelings. d. potential negative effects on teamwork.

During the rebuilding efforts after a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault, qualified construction workers are in very short supply in the region from St. Louis to Memphis. As a result, the HR director of a large commercial construction company is proposing to the CEO that he consider hiring non-violent ex-felons who have served their sentences in prison who can be quickly trained to do basic construction jobs. The CEO is rather alarmed at this suggestion. The HR director's best argument is that although ex-felons are a non-traditional labor source, a. felons have so few other job opportunities they will be loyal employees. b. the CEO can either hire felons or lose out on potentially lucrative construction contracts. c. in order to encourage employment of felons the federal government gives their employers significant tax breaks. d. construction is a good job match for felons because it is a dangerous job which appeals to their risk-taking personalities.

Effective electronic screening of applicants can take all of the following forms EXCEPT a. questions that disqualify an applicant. b. elimination of all non-minority applicants. c. valid assessment tests. d. financial screening.

Exclusive use of the Internet for recruiting may reduce the diversity of an employer's applicant population because a. some religious denominations forbid the use of advanced technology. b. economically-disadvantaged individuals have limited Internet access. c. there is a gender gap in computer skills. d. few minority occupational groups have websites.

Job specifications list a. what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the job description. b. the knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to perform the job satisfactorily. c. the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job. d. all the duties of the job and whether they are essential or marginal according to the ADA.

Faced with a severe, long-term drop-off in the demand for their products, a company that manufactures replacement parts for airplanes must cut its workforce significantly. The HR department must generate plans for making the workforce reduction more effective. This plan must include all of the following "best practices" EXCEPT a. developing a plan for communicating information about the workforce reduction to employees. b. outsourcing the termination interviews and administrative processing. c. identifying the core work of the business. d. providing for nurturing of employees who survive the workforce reduction.

Flexible hours, job-sharing, child-care referral services, and flexible leave programs are all examples of a. executive perks. b. retention programs based on work/family concerns. c. anti-unionization programs. d. programs mandated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

For the position of firefighter in Smallville, the physical requirements are rigorous and selection involves many ability tests. Mark is hearing-impaired in both ears even with hearing aids. This impairment caused him to be disqualified even though Mark passed all the other physical tests and pencil-and-paper tests. This is an example of a. the compensatory approach to performance predictors. b. the multiple hurdles approach to selection. c. discrimination under the ADA. d. person-organization mismatch

FreeFormPress has experienced a significant increase in the number of magazines it publishes. But, FreeForm is concerned that several of its existing clients may leave at the end of their current contracts. Rather than hiring additional permanent employees to handle the new clients, all of the following options would be a potential solution for the talent shortage EXCEPT a. hiring contingent workers. b. freezing internal transfers and promotions. c. outsourcing excess work to other publishers. d. requiring employees to work overtime.

From an HR perspective, the most compelling reason given below for an organization to have a reputation for social responsibility is to a. heighten the HR director's reputation. b. increase the ability to attract and retain employees. c. increase quarterly profits. d. improve the ability to succeed in bids for governmental contracts.

George is a supervisor of 15 employees. Because the company pays wages lower than the average in the locality, many of George's subordinates have substandard skills and poor work habits. George views his department as a training ground, where low-quality workers have the opportunity to become higher-quality workers. Consequently, George takes the approach that performance appraisal a. should show his subordinates how they would compare with employees in a higher-quality organization as well as how they are meeting the expectations of their current employer. b. in this situation is best used as a tool to develop substandard employees into more valuable resources. c. should be a meeting of the minds between himself and the subordinate he is appraising where both agree on the performance appraisal. d. is best used as a disciplinary tool to focus workers' attention on the performance standards required.

Gloriosa Technologies has experienced steady growth in its product lines in the last 20 years. Recently, a new product has become a huge seller, and Gloriosa finds itself short of experienced employees with the needed skill sets. These skills are not available in the labor market because the Gloriosa's production process is unique to it. Until Gloriosa can hire new employees, it should consider all of the following EXCEPT a. require current employees to work overtime. b. hire contingent employees. c. contact retired Gloriosa employees and persuade them to come back. d. offer current employees retention bonuses for staying with Gloriosa.

Greta has taken over as manager of HR for a small company. The previous HR manager had kept every scrap of paper that crossed his desk for 10 years. Greta is determined to clear out all the unnecessary "junk" left over from her predecessor that is filling cardboard boxes in her office. Greta knows she should keep all applications and hiring related documents and records for ____ before they can be discarded. a. one year b. three years c. five years d. 10 years or until the company is dissolved or purchased

Griggs v. Duke Power a. established the importance of proving discriminatory intent when an individual sues an employer for discrimination. b. placed the burden of proof on the employer to show that the practice in question is actually a business necessity. c. clarified that the employer's past practices were not relevant in proving a discrimination complaint. d. demonstrated that tests of intelligence are not discriminatory, even if they have a disparate impact on a protected class.

How can teams be useful in the appraisal process? a. Team members tend to be more objective in their ratings than are supervisors. b. Team members may have more opportunities to view an employee's performance than does a supervisor. c. Team ratings are useful for development information because the anonymity of the evaluation makes the raters "brutally honest." d. Teams are better able to allocate rewards based on merit than are supervisors.

How does the compensatory approach combine predictors? a. a minimum cutoff is set on each predictor b. a higher score on one predictor offsets a lower score on another c. an average of predictor scores for all test takers is used to establish cutoffs d. multiple hurdles are set to compensate for the different predictors

Human resource management is a. supervising, monitoring, controlling, and disciplining employees in order to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively. b. the designing of organizational systems to ensure that human talent is used effectively and efficiently to accomplish organizational goals. c. the efficient and effective use and coordination of human capital to ensure the profitability and long-term sustainability of the organization. d. the design of the interface between the human capital of the firm and its technological and financial capital in order to efficiently and effectively reach organizational goals..

IBM builds work teams partly based on individual employees' social networks. IBM collects data on employee social networks by a. asking each employee to record his/her internal and external contacts in an HR database. b. examining call records and emails of employees. c. developing internal communication pathways called "spider webs." d. requiring employees to give HR access to their personal social networking accounts.

If the pay for a job is ____________________ the market rate for the job, it would be considered competitive pay. a. 19% above b. 8% below c. 20% below d. 25% above

In a structured interview, a. all candidates meet with the same interviewer. b. a set of standardized questions are asked of all job applicants. c. each candidate appears before a panel of interviewers. d. questions are designed to address all of the Big Five personality traits.

In order to calculate the wealth created per employee, one must divide ___________ by the organization's full time headcount. a. shareholder's equity b. net profit after taxes minus cost of capital c. revenue minus (operating expense minus (compensation plus benefits cost)) d. value of gains from productivity improvement for the time period

In order to lessen the conflict between the administrative and the developmental roles of performance appraisal, the recommended practice is to a. combine both types of feedback into the same appraisal interview, but deal with pay issues first as that is the employee's primary concern. b. separate the administrative feedback and the developmental feedback into different interviews. c. have the employee's manager deliver the administrative feedback, including pay information, and have HR staff address the developmental issues in a separate interview. d. communicate all feedback to the employee in writing two weeks before the appraisal interview so there will be no surprises during the interview.

In order to minimize backlash by majority males against diversity efforts, trainers and managers should a. stress that behavior change follows attitude change, so it is critical to change the attitudes of majority male employees. b. emphasize that employees are free to believe whatever they wish, but they must behave with respect toward all the individuals with whom their work brings them into contact. c. cut back on traditional diversity training and instead focus training efforts on team building, cooperation, and company esprit de corps. d. terminate the worst of the discontented majority males, as their attitudes will be difficult to change and will poison the climate of the organization.

In the HR context, "sustainability" is defined as a. the requirement for organizations in polluting industries, such as manufacturers and utility companies, to reduce their impact on the environment. b. the ability to continue to operate, survive and adjust to significant change. c. the ability to maintain proper employee flow in, through and out of the organization. d. the development of organizational policies and procedures that allow the organization to continue to operate in foreign countries which have strict environmental regulation.

Jeannette is a tax specialist in for the airline industry at Blue Moon Executive Airlines. Relatively few people in the U.S. have her particular skills. Jeannette has received an email from a headhunter advising her that the headhunter knows of a new job she may be interested in. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. If Jeannette's employer, Blue Moon, has the headhunter on retainer, it is illegal for the headhunter to contact Jeannette. b. The headhunter's client is taking a low-cost approach to filling the tax specialist position. c. Jeannette would be classified as a passive recruit because she has not looked for a new job in the last year. d. If the headhunter's client is a former employer of Jeannette's, this could be considered re-recruiting.

Jill, a talented marketing and public relations professional with a major corporation, has been diagnosed with chronic clinical depression. Jill has requested that she be given a lighter travel schedule and attend more meetings via teleconferencing. This accommodation would require some restructuring of Jill's job, modifying her work schedule, and giving some of her assignments to other (somewhat less talented) employees. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Jill's request is covered by the ADA, the same as a request for a physical disability. b. Jill should be encouraged to take FMLA leave to see if the time off will cure her depression. c. If the company makes the accommodations for Jill, the reason for the accommodations must be kept confidential. d. HR should verify Jill's medical condition with her psychiatrist

Job ____ refers to organizing tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a productive unit of work. a. structuring b. design c. re-engineering d. configuration

Job analysis can be stressful for managers and employees because a. it is frequently conducted before major downsizing events. b. it may pinpoint that current job incumbents are not doing all the job tasks that should be done. c. of the fear that jobs will be upgraded and that the current incumbents will not be qualified to hold them any longer. d. of the concern that jobs will be outsourced.

Management-by-objectives is best for a. reducing interrater reliability problems. b. linking individual performance to organizational goals. c. minimizing instrument development time. d. evaluating non-exempt employees.

Matt has recently joined his family's wholesale landscape nursery business as vice president of operations. The firm employs 25 full time employees, plus about 20 seasonal employees. In the past, Matt's father personally handled all HR issues. Matt plans to bring the company in line with typical HR staffing levels. Matt will most probably a. hire a full-time HR manager and outsource payroll. b. add a clerical employee to help with HR tasks. c. outsource the HR function. d. hire a full-time HR professional.

Measurable or visible indicators of the selection criteria are called a. reliable estimators.. b. predictors. c. essential elements. d. validators.

Performance appraisal systems that combine information from team members and other employee "clients" to develop appraisals for individual employees are best used for ____ decisions. a. compensation b. developmental c. promotion d. disciplinary

Pro-X Components, Inc., operates a factory in a small, depressed Rust Belt town in the Upper Midwest. The workforce is high quality because of the strong local work ethic and the good quality public education system. But, it has been difficult for Pro-X Components to fill all its operational job openings locally, and it is not easy to persuade people from outside the area to relocate to this isolated, struggling town. Which of the following situations would most likely IMPROVE Pro-X Components' geographic labor market quickly? a. an influx of retirees to this town as it grows as a retirement area. b. the closing of a medium-sized plant in the same industry in a town 10 miles away. c. the opening of a new junior college in the community. d. changes in government regulation of H1 visas so that Pro-X can hire highly-skilled foreign workers.

Revenue divided by full time employee equivalents is a. a way to calculate HR's intangible contribution to the organization. b. a measure of employee productivity. c. return on investment in employees. d. human economic value added.

Sarah is the Executive Vice President of HR for a large research hospital. The hospital must replace its CEO who was killed in a plane crash, along with his designated successor. Sarah will likely turn to __________________ to help her recruit applicants for this position. a. public employment agencies b. headhunters c. employee leasing companies d. outplacement firms

The 1991 Civil Rights Act requires that plaintiffs bringing discrimination charges must a. prove that the negative impact on the employee was entirely due to his/her membership in a protected class.. b. identify the particular employer practice being challenged and that protected class status played some role. c. identify majority-group members who benefited from the illegal actions. d. provide evidence of financial harm caused by the employer's actions.

The Americans with Disabilities Act a. has made it impossible for an employer to find out if an applicant is physically able to do a job until a conditional job offer has been made b. allows physical ability tests to be given to applicants if the tests are job-related. c. has resulted in high costs of accommodation for employers d. requires employers to hire applicants who can perform most of, but not all of, the core functions of the job

The CEO of Ponchatoula Confections, a non-unionized company, is conferring with the vice-president of HR about inevitable layoffs due to long-term declines in orders. The CEO wants to lay off poor-performing employees first. Looking at the list of employees and their performance rankings, the CEO sees Carl's name. Carl has had consistently below-average performance appraisals for the last five years. Carl is 66 and has been with the firm 41 years. The CEO says, "What about Carl?" The vice-president of HR advises the CEO a. "Don't touch Carl, he is protected by the ADEA because he is over 70." b. "You can consider Carl for layoff because of his long-term poor performance." c. "The ADEA protects employees who have over 40 years seniority with the firm. We can't lay Carl off." d. The ADEA requires employers to lay off employees in order of reverse seniority, so Carl must be retained while more junior employees are laid off.

The Functional Job Analysis (FJA) method examines the three components of jobs: a. intellectual, emotional, physical b. data, people and things. c. knowledge, skills and abilities. d. input, throughput and output.

The HR director feels it is necessary for each individual employee to analyze his or her personal strengths and weaknesses and set concrete goals for improvement. Consequently, the HR director is designing a ____ program. a. facilitated appraisal b. self-appraisal c. team evaluation d. introspective analysis

The HR management role that is most influential in reducing the number of employee lawsuits against the company is the ____ role. a. strategic b. advocate c. operational d. administrative

The Immigration Reform and Control Act a. permits employers to have policies that require all job applicants be native-born U.S. citizens.. b. requires employers to pay prevailing U.S. wages to immigrants holding the appropriate visas. c. prevents employers from discriminating against undocumented aliens. d. mandates that all employers use the E-verify database.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act requires a. employers to continue employee's pay while he/she is on military leave. b. employees to notify their employers of their military service obligations. c. employers to give preference in hiring to applicants who have served in the military. d. employees who are permanently disabled as a result of their military service to be automatically enrolled in the employer's retirement program.

The ability of an organization to compete with other organizations for a sufficient supply of human resources with the appropriate capabilities is a. evidence of organizational efficiency. b. an indicator of the HR function's effectiveness. c. governed by the ability to offer job security. d. one input to the environmental scanning process.

The ability to do an entire unit of work from start to finish contributes to the worker's ____ the job. a. knowledge of results of b. experienced meaningfulness of c. experienced responsibility for d. sense of autonomy over

The assumption that the performance of employees in a department correspond to the classic "bell shaped curve" is essential to the ____ method of performance appraisal. a. ranking b. forced distribution c. critical incident d. statistical

The customer service department of the cell phone company serving a 10-state region in the Southwest, has a reputation of being unhelpful to customers and sometimes customer service representatives are considered surly and rude to customers, especially to technologically- challenged callers. The cause of this behavior by the customer-relations is most likely to be a. the customer service department being located in New York City. b. a lack of focus on the customer by managers and employees. c. dissatisfied and difficult customers. d. low pay in the customer service positions.

The demographic composition of the workforce affects HR planning in all the following ways EXCEPT a. it affects the specific capabilities and skills of the workforce. b. makes it less likely that U.S. firms will need to outsource jobs internationally. c. it increases the need for work/life balancing as a retention tool. d. it affects policies on retaining employees who are past retirement age.

The director of recruiting at Naranja Technologies Inc. is considering whether to expand recruiting efforts to Merriweather State University (MSU). The recruiting director will make his decision based on all of the following factors EXCEPT a. the industry reputation of the relevant academic departments at MSU. b. salary expectations of MSU graduates. c. the capabilities of the MSU college placement office. d. the job performance of MSU alumni at Naranja Technologies.

The executive committee of the firm is concerned with the high rate of turnover among their most promising engineers between 25 and 35 years old. They ask you, as the new director of HR, what suggestions you have for retaining these individuals. You suggest ____ as the most appropriate response to this retention problem. a. accepting that this age group is naturally high turnover b. evaluating whether realistic job previews are necessary c. motivational seminars and retreats d. employee recognition programs

The federal government's policy of ____________requires a covered employer to submit documentation of its attempts to narrow the gaps between the demographic composition of its workforce and the demographic composition of the labor markets from which it hires employees. a. preferential selection b. affirmative action c. workforce balancing d. desegregation of the workplace

The fundamental job duties of the employment position that an individual with a disability holds or desires are called a. core job duties. b. essential job functions. c. reasonable accommodation factors. d. minimum job requirements.

The high school principal sighs as she examines the list of resignations for the upcoming school year. She says, "I guess there's no way we can keep good people from leaving for other schools if we can't pay top salaries. We have competitive pay, but that's just not enough." As director of HR for the school district, you tell the principal a. "You're right. Money is the main reason people stay in a job, so we need to consider how to raise salaries." b. "No. When pay is competitive, other job factors have more impact on turnover." c. "No, in service sector jobs, people are motivated more by the psychological aspects of the work than by tangible rewards." d. "Actually, most of our teachers are women, and they usually leave jobs for involuntary reasons connected with their families, so pay is not a big factor in their retention."

The majority of women who have risen to senior management in the U.S. hold positions in support or staff areas, such as HR and corporate communications, rather than in the higher-paying, more prestigious, male-dominated areas of sales, operations and finance. These women have a. become "pink collar" executives. b. become stuck in the glass elevator. c. become trapped in the hierarchical pyramid. d. been successfully building an alternative route to CEO and corporate-president status.

The most fundamental anti-discrimination employment law, the one that is considered the keystone for following legislation, is the a. Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. constitution. b. Civil Rights Act of 1964. c. Executive Order 11246. d. Equal Pay Act of 1963.

The position of vice-president of HR is open in a large paper-products manufacturing company. Two individuals are being considered, both from the internal HR function at the firm. The selection committee wants the new vice-president to be a strategic contributor to the firm. All of the following competencies are highly desirable EXCEPT a. that the candidate understands the paper-products business in all aspects. b. that the candidate be a highly detail-oriented person. c. that the candidate demonstrate ethical behavior. d. that the candidate be results-oriented.

The problem of ____ occurs when interviewers make a decision on the job suitability of applicants within the first four or five minutes of the interview and spend the balance of the interview looking for evidence to support it. a. cultural noise b. snap judgments c. premature closure d. negative emphasis

The process of choosing individuals who have needed qualifications to fill jobs in an organization is called a. recruitment. b. selection. c. job matching. d. placement.

The purpose of a/an ____ is to give applicants an accurate idea of the positive and negative aspects of the job so that they can more accurately evaluate the employment situation. a. pre-employment job disclosure b. realistic job preview c. truth-in-hiring approach d. job orientation

The reason that cooperation between operating managers and HR staff is necessary for HR efforts to succeed is that a. HR professionals see the "coarse-grained picture" of organizational strategy while operating managers see the "fine-grained picture" of daily production. b. HR designs processes that the operating managers must help implement. c. HR professionals must implement processes that have been designed by top management and which impact operating managers. d. HR professionals must react swiftly to initiatives created by operating managers.

The simplest methods for appraising performance are the a. behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS). b. category scaling methods. c. comparative methods. d. written methods.

The veterinary assistants at a large veterinary practice alternate between working at the reception desk, working in the lab and X-ray department, and assisting the vets during office visits with patients. This is a type of a. job enrichment. b. job rotation. c. job enlargement. d. job re-design.

When HR is viewed negatively in an organization, the complaints are typically expressed as a. High-level HR managers being overly focused on results rather than activities. b. HR managers being excessively focused on their gatekeeping roles. c. HR managers viewing themselves as organizational change agents. d. the HR function being too heavily involved in forming organizational competitive strategy.

When HR professionals from different organizations work together to solve shared business problems they are engaging in a. collusive HR. b. collaborative HR. c. operational HR. d. professional HR.

When Kevin applied for a job with a firm providing security to high-profile individuals, he was given a test for visual memory. This would be best classified as a. a psychomotor ability test. b. a cognitive ability test. c. an illegal test that discriminates against the disabled. d. a work sample test.

When the human resources function creates a unique capability in a firm that creates high value and differentiates the organization from its competition, human resources is a/an ____ for the firm. a. intangible asset b. core competency c. critical capability d. strategic contributor

Which of the following HR functions is NOT included in a typical balanced scorecard analysis? a. employee training b. employee benefit programs. c. mentoring programs d. succession planning

Which of the following individual characteristics is not a typically diversity concern addressed by HR? a. foreign origin b. status as a parent c. age/generational membership d. religion

Which of the following is FALSE? a. Harassment on the basis of ethnicity is illegal under the employment discrimination laws. b. Unlike sexual harassment, racial harassment must go beyond mere verbal joking. c. If employers investigate each complaint of ethnic harassment and discipline proven offenders, the harassed employee will be less likely to have a legal claim against the employer. d. An employee who felt he was harassed on the basis of his race who did not get satisfactory results when he complained to his HR department, would complain to the EEOC for investigation and enforcement.

Which of the following is NOT a focus of strategic HR? a. "macro" view of the organization b. transactional skills c. high-risk planning outlook d. proactive HR systems and practices

Which of the following is NOT a form of feedback as a job characteristic? a. a customer complains to a sales representative that the equipment purchased was not as specified b. an information technology specialist sees that his employer's stock price went down over the last quarter c. a dog owner who compliments the job the groomer has done on her Cocker Spaniel d. blank student faces as a professor lectures on plate tectonics

Which of the following is NOT legal for an organization to use as a source of background information on a job applicant? a. the applicant's Facebook postings, especially those concerned with personal activities such as sexual activity, alcohol and drug use, and risky behavior such as texting while driving b. the applicant's record of hospitalizations for debilitating chronic illness c. the applicant's credit history, including bankruptcies, defaulting on college loans, and late payments on credit cards d. the applicant's motor vehicle records

Which of the following is NOT typically a component of diversity training? a. sensitivity training. b. behavior modeling. c. cultural awareness. d. legal awareness.

Which of the following is TRUE in forming HR strategy? a. The world changes so rapidly that the past is irrelevant. b. The past is important only as it can predict the future. c. The present is the best guide to the future. d. The impact of strategy is limited to the present, because the future is unpredictable.

Which of the following is an example of the administrative role of performance appraisal? a. identifying individual subordinate's weaknesses to determine coaching needs b. measuring subordinate's performance for making retention decisions during a layoff c. identifying the organization's training needs d. communicating feedback to the employee

Which of the following is true about the use of group interviews to gather job analysis information? They are a. relatively inexpensive. b. appropriate for highly technical jobs. c. less likely to result in "job inflation" because of the presence of peers. d. useful if there are time constraints.

Which of the following statements about the global labor market is FALSE? a. U.S. employers argue that if they cannot use cheaper foreign labor, they will be at a competitive disadvantage compared with firms that make use of this low-cost labor. b. U.S. employers find China a good location for outsourcing because of few governmental regulations on recruiting and hiring by foreign firms. c. An immigrant with a valid H1 visa can legally work in the U.S. for a U.S. employer. d. When U.S. employees are significantly more productive than foreign workers doing the same job, U.S. employers are often willing to pay higher U.S. wages and keep the jobs in the U.S.

Which of the following statements is FALSE about electronic human resource management systems (e-HRM)? a. E-HRM systems typically increase the efficiency of administrative HR functions and reduce costs. b. E-HRM systems are usually separate from the organization's overall enterprise software and IT plan. c. E-HRM can support every function within HR. d. The collection and analysis of HR data via an e-HRM system allows managers to model future conditions.

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding recruiting process outsourcing (RPO)? a. RPO typically does not include follow-up interviews with applicants after initial screening and onsite visits. b. The trade-off for cost-savings by using RPO is a reduction in overall quality of the applicant pool generated. c. RPOs generate cost-savings for HR departments partly by reducing the number of HR personnel the department must keep on staff. d. RPOs take over many of the administrative, but not strategic, functions of recruiting.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Intelligence tests, such as the Wonderlic, must be justified as testing job-related cognitive abilities. b. Although integrity tests are somewhat fakable, personality tests are not because there are not clearly socially desirable answers. c. The Big Five personality traits can predict future work performance in different occupations. d. Personality is a unique blend of individual characteristics that affects how a person interacts with/his her work environment.

Which of the following statements is true? a. The increase in multiculturalism is decreasing the amount of effort HR must spend on diversity issues, since the "melting pot" effect is erasing the differences among individuals. b. By 2050 whites will make up less than half the population of the U.S. c. Diversity is a concept that applies exclusively to U.S. employers with workers who are located in the U.S. d. As older individuals retire out of the active workforce, diversity will be less of an HR management issue, since most employees who are uncomfortable with women and minorities are older.

Which of the following statements regarding job posting and bidding is FALSE? a. It gives existing employees the first chance at job openings before external candidates are considered. b. Job posting reduces the threat of organizational "in breeding" because the posting crosses divisional and departmental boundaries in the search for new blood. c. Job posting may not reveal any qualified internal candidates. d. In a unionized organization, job posting and bidding often is spelled out in the labor agreement

Workers are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against employment discrimination based on all the following characteristics EXCEPT a. age over 40. b. sexual orientation. c. religion. d. pregnancy.

You are looking for a new job and you are scanning dozens of job descriptions in a large organization where you hope to find a job. The quickest place to look in the job description to find the general responsibilities and main distinctive components of the job is in the a. identification section. b. general summary. c. essential functions and duties section. d. job specifications section.

You are the director of HR for a medium-sized firm. You are looking to hire a benefits specialist. You would prefer the individual to be certified in this field. Consequently, you will check applicant resumés for these initials a. OHST. b. CEBS. c. CCP. d. GPHR.

All of the following types of organizations fall under Title VII EXCEPT a. private religious educational institutions. b. private employers of 15 or more persons. c. agencies of the federal government. d. national labor unions.

You are the recruiter for an ophthalmologic products company. Your firm needs a scientist with a highly-specialized background. You have been unable to lure any scientist with the needed qualifications to your firm, even though you have offered a very high salary. After intensive searching, you have found a Canadian-educated, Peruvian scientist with impeccable credentials who is interested in moving to the U.S. Which problem are you most likely to encounter? a. The inability of the scientist to adapt to the U.S. work culture. b. Tight immigration quotas for highly skilled workers. c. Your current scientific employees fearing that their work will be outsourced overseas. d. The difficulty in meeting the salary expectations of the Peruvian scientist.

Your organization, a national restaurant chain, rewards managers who are able to retain high-performing employees. As a store manager, which of the following actions or behaviors would be most likely to be in your control that would improve retention of your high-performing hourly employees? a. Improve wage levels significantly for all hourly employees. b. Conduct accurate performance appraisals. c. Give high-performing employees lump-sum raises. d. Provide job security for hourly employees.

____ is a goal-directed drive, and is defined as the desire within a person causing that person to act. a. Ambition b. Motivation c. Effort d. Work ethic

____ is an example of intangible recognition as a form of reward. a. Promotion to a new job b. Verbal praise from one's supervisor c. A performance bonus d. An opportunity for training

__________ is the use of human resource management practices to gain or keep a competitive advantage. a. Manpower planning b. Strategic HR management c. HR business integration d. Competitive HRM.

________________ is the assessment of internal and external conditions that affect the organization. a. Data mining b. Environmental scanning c. Labor market analysis d. Strategic planning

omparative methods of rating a. are most acceptable to employees when they are applied to administrative decisions rather than to developmental decisions. b. can either be statistically-based (such as forced distribution) or simply rankings of each employee against his/her co-workers. c. are useful for small groups because the results can be statistically adjusted for small numbers. d. are preferred by managers because the results are easy to explain to subordinates.

"The reason I love my work," remarked a nanny for two pre-school boys, "is that I am able to make sure they get the best start in life possible as regarding affection, nutrition, and intellectual stimulation. They enter kindergarten as really well-adjusted children." This nanny feels her job has high a. feedback. b. autonomy. c. task significance. d. task identity.

A Baby Boomer manager of a Generation Y subordinate may a. find that the subordinate is overly risk-averse. b. realize that the subordinate's technological skills do not transfer effectively to the workplace. c. be irritated by the subordinate's constant questioning. d. be surprised that the subordinate places a low value on monetary rewards.

A recommended way to allay employee anxieties about job analysis is a. to promise that no job reductions will occur in the next 12 months. b. to conduct wage and salary surveys at the same time, because usually this will result in an upward adjustment of employee pay. c. include employees in the revision of job descriptions. d. to use a consulting firm to conduct the job analysis, thus removing the process from internal organizational politics.

A/an ____ takes over the staff of a small business and writes the paychecks, pays the taxes, prepares and implements HR policies, and keeps all the required records for a fee. a. employment agency b. payroll vendor c. professional employer organization d. third party employer

According to the textbook, when managers are responsible for entering and updating employee information in skills databases, a. they tend to minimize the skills of subordinates who they consider threats to their own advancement. b. they tend to exaggerate their subordinates' proficiency levels in order to appear to be more competent leaders. c. they may minimize the skills of their most productive subordinates for fear the subordinates may be transferred. d. the accuracy and completeness of the data is inadequate because of strict privacy regulations over individual employee data.

All of the following are considered HR best practices EXCEPT a. typing employee pay to successful performance b. talent development so that employees can grow with the organization. c. allowing workforce levels to fluctuate with product/service demand. d. stringent hiring standard

All of the following are issues with job incumbents regarding job analysis EXCEPT a. there may be a difference between what the job incumbent is doing on the job and what should be done on the job. b. the current job incumbent may have higher qualifications than are necessary to carry out the job. c. the best determination of the essential functions of a job is made by observing what the current job incumbent does. d. the current job incumbent may have expanded the scope of the job beyond the core job duties.

All of the following are positive multi-generational management activities EXCEPT a. Recently-graduated Milo helps a middle-aged manager learn how to send tweets. b. Milo (26), Clark (37), and Clarissa (62) are members of the policies and procedures revision committee. c. teams of high-potential employees are comprised of individuals who have at least 15 years of potential future tenure at the organization. d. Clarissa, a senior employee benefits manager, is mentoring Milo who has just joined the organization fresh from college.

Alvin, a sales representative for a company making industrial solvents, lost a major customer last month. Until then, Alvin's year has been about average in the dollar amount of sales. Early in the year, Alvin brought in two new customers of about the size of the customer he lost last month. Alvin's supervisor gives Alvin an unsatisfactory rating in his annual performance appraisal. It is likely that Alvin's supervisor has committed the ____ error. a. contrast b. strictness c. recency d. primacy

Amanda, a recruiter for Maxster, Inc., is looking over the file for an interesting candidate for a managerial position. Although the applicant has listed an MBA from a reputable school on his application (which Amanda has verified), he has scored poorly on tests of written and verbal communication. Moreover, the applicant gives his former job title as team leader (which Amanda has verified), but his MMPI test shows he is low on agreeableness and is an introvert. Otherwise, the applicant is highly promising. How should Amanda resolve these discrepancies? a. Amanda should have the candidate's background investigated by a detective. b. Amanda should give the candidate an honesty test to see if he is fabricating his capabilities. c. Amanda should engage the applicant in an in-depth interview. d. Amanda should have the applicant take additional personality and ability tests.

An organization's initial use of an HRMS can be characterized as making HR ____ functions more efficient. a. legal b. strategic c. administrative d. competitive

Analyzing organizational turnover statistics by the employee's reason for leaving would identify a. what proportion of separations were functional and what proportion were dysfunctional. b. whether churn was occurring. c. if most employee turnover was controllable or uncontrollable. d. if employee turnover was voluntary or involuntary.

Arden Insurance's claims processing facility has been the major employer in the town of Arden for over 20 years, drawing mainly on workers with minimal skills and high-school educations. Now, a large telemarketing firm is opening an operation in Arden which will also employ low-skilled workers. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Since Arden and the marketing firm are in different industries, the impact on Arden's workforce will be minimal. b. The telemarketing firm probably targeted the local area because it can benefit by hiring away Arden's trained workforce. c. If Arden cannot offer competitive or higher wages than the telemarketing firm, it needs to determine if its current employees are satisfied with the intangible aspects of their jobs. d. Workers in rural areas tend to be loyal to their employer, so Arden's current employees are likely to stay with Arden.

Arnold is the HR manager for a mid-sized engineering consulting firm. The types of ethical misconduct he is most likely to encounter in his daily work as an HR manager include all of the following EXCEPT a. employees misrepresenting hours and times worked. b. employees misusing organizational supplies. c. collusion among Arnold's firm and its competitors to rig bids on government contracts. d. employees sexually harassing co-workers.

As the HR executive for a chicken-processing plant in a rural location, which of the following external supply factors would be the MOST important to you? a. the departure of college-educated locals to more thriving regions of the country. b. the quality of the high schools in the area. c. the availability of immigrants willing to work for low wages. d. the outsourcing of jobs to countries with lower wage levels.

As the unemployment rate rises, a. the rate of voluntary turnover increases. b. early retirement plans become less attractive to Baby Boomers. c. people available for work tend to have high qualifications. d. it becomes harder to fill jobs with skilled workers.

Austin, Texas, is a junior rival of Silicon Valley. The city actively recruits new and established high-tech firms to relocate to Austin. As an HR director for a start-up high-tech firm, what would be most important factor regarding the Austin location in comparison to cities without an existing high-tech sector? a. exposure to industrial espionage by competing high-tech firms. b. the high salaries commanded by high-tech workers due to the high local demand for them. c. the availability of an existing pool of high-tech workers. d. concern about being "a small fish in a big pond" and thus less likely to get financial support from the city of Austin than if the company would locate in an economically-depressed city.

Beckenkall Consulting is a rapidly-growing management consulting firm. As it expands, it needs to hire a number of new consultants every year. The failure rate of new consultants has been too high. The director of HR has decided to see if the success rate of new hires can be increased by selecting applicants who not only have all the technical qualifications, but also have the same personality as successful consultants now working in the firm. Consequently, the HR director gives all the high-performing consultants the MMPI. She sees that there is one dominant type of personality in this group. Now, she has told the manager of recruitment to give the MMPI to applicants as one of the hurdles they must clear before being hired. This is an example of a. a test of reliability. b. post-hoc validity. c. a concurrent validity approach. d. a predictive validity approach.

Ensuring fair and equitable treatment for employees regardless of their personal background or circumstances is associated with the ____ role of HR. a. strategic b. operational c. employee advocate d. administrative

Bob has an opening to fill in his department. Although high performance is really needed from a new employee, Bob's organization has little to offer in the way of organizational support. The organization has no real training program, the technology the department uses is outdated, and the relationships among Bob's other subordinates are somewhat conflict-ridden. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Since organizational support is absent, it is unlikely high performance can be expected from any new hire. b. Bob should probably outsource this job to an independent contractor. c. In this situation, Bob is most likely to get high performance from the new hire if he selects an applicant with extremely high ability. d. In this situation, Bob will most likely get high performance from the new hire if he selects an applicant who is highly motivated and has a strong work ethic.

Borderline Cafeterias, Inc., has discovered that most of its wait staff is white, while most of its kitchen staff is minority. When interviewed by the local TV news anchor, the CEO of Borderline Cafeterias says, "There has been no conscious or deliberate practice to staff the cafeterias in a discriminatory manner. It just happened to turn out this way." The CEO's argument is an example of a. disparate treatment. b. blind discrimination. c. disparate impact. d. discriminatory intent.

Charlotte is describing her new HR position to a friend. She says that she handles most of the clerical duties involved in running the HR department, including such tasks as maintaining employee files and submitting governmental reports. Charlotte's job would fall into the ____ HR role. a. strategic b. operational and employee advocate c. administrative d. secretarial

Cheryl, a branch manager at Prairie Ridge Bank, is upset that all the tellers in the various branches will be evaluated by the ranking system. The tellers' raises will be determined by their ranking, and the worst-ranked teller in each branch will be terminated. Cheryl has many concerns about using the ranking method, and she has an appointment with the executive vice president of HR to present her arguments. All of the following are concerns she will raise EXCEPT a. the size of the difference in performance among individuals is not defined in the ranking method. b. Cheryl's worst performing employee may be better than another branch manager's average performing employee. c. It will be too difficult for Cheryl to distinguish between her best and worst performers. d. There are 17 branches and the ranking system will be too unwieldy to use for so many groups.

Clark is an HR staffer at a brewery with 372 employees. Clark is comparing the number of protected-class members who are potential brewery employees in the appropriate labor market in which the company hires both professional and line workers. Clark is conducting a/an ____________ analysis. a. demographic projection b. goal and timetable c. availability d. utilization

Claude is the HR manager for a pharmaceuticals firm. His top sales representative, Agatha, has twin boys under age 2. Despite the fact that Agatha has a full-time nanny, it is obvious that she is stressed by the demands of her work and her personal life. Claude's main concern in this case is probably a. how to persuade Agatha to resign. b. getting Agatha to refocus on her career through motivational training. c. retaining Agatha as an employee. d. whether Agatha will file an FMLA lawsuit.

Clear, precise statements on the major tasks, duties, and responsibilities performed are contained in the ____ section of the job description. a. identification b. general summary c. essential functions and duties d. specification requirements

Company policies that require only men to be assigned to hazardous jobs that may cause birth defects a. are usually applied on a case-by-case basis between management and HR. b. are recommended as a way of reducing workers' compensation premiums. c. have been held to be discriminatory against women by the Supreme Court. d. are a standard and accepted health and safety practice.

Compensation and benefits managers in almost all organizations face a major and growing concern regarding the cost of a. equalization of pay between men and women. b. incentive pay for hourly employees. c. health-care benefits. d. outsourcing to lower-wage countries.

Data that should be reviewed in the preparation stage of the job analysis process include all of the following EXCEPT a. existing job descriptions. b. organizational charts. c. pay scales attached to current jobs. d. previous job analysis information.

Downsizing an organization typically has all of the following effects on the organization EXCEPT a. demoralization of surviving employees. b. short-term reduction in labor costs. c. revenue generation. d. extra costs in the form of severance pay and outplacement.

During a trip to China, Kevin became very ill and had to be treated for several days in a Chinese hospital. During the course of treatment Kevin received several blood transfusions. Kevin is now back at work in the U.S., but rumors in the workplace are spreading that the reason Kevin is constantly fatigued and subject to colds is because he caught AIDS from the transfusions. For this reason, Kevin was passed over for promotion because the supervisor of that department did not want to work with a person with AIDS. Is Kevin covered by the ADA? a. Yes, but only if Kevin really has AIDS. So Kevin needs to have an AIDS test to clarify his medical condition. b. No, because Kevin hasn't had an AIDS test, so his actual medical condition is not known. c. Yes, Kevin is covered by the ADA because some coworkers think he has AIDS, even though he may or may not actually have AIDS. d. No, because the real causes of the rumors about Kevin are his fatigue and his frequency of colds. Colds and fatigue are transitory and are not covered by the ADA.

Ernest is a corporate tax specialist who has been working for a major heavy equipment manufacturer for the last 20 years. He was born in 1949. Assuming that Ernest is typical of his generation of worker a. Ernest will have a short-term orientation and he will expect that he be rewarded more quickly for work achievements. b. the organization will benefit when Ernest retires and a younger employee with fresher knowledge takes his place. c. Ernest is likely to be interested in either continuing to work full-time or in working part-time rather than taking full retirement. d. it is unlikely that Ernest would be interested in mentoring a younger worker because of generational conflicts.

Ernest, the vice president of HR for the Legendary Repose motel chain, has been on the HR side of the hotel/motel industry for over 30 years. Ernest has become a prized partner with the top executives of the LR corporation, and his advice is valued by the executives. Ernest prides himself on making decisions based on his "gut" and his intuition which he has honed over his career. Which of the following statements is most likely to be TRUE? a. Ernest will be impressed and influenced by strategic arguments based on analysis of extensive HR data. b. LR's current top executives will press Ernest to support his intuitive arguments with hard data. c. Ernest appreciates the efficiency aspect of HRMS more than the decision-making aspect of HRMS. d. Ernest is comfortable with sophisticated statistical models.

Georgiana, the vice president of HR in an Ohio-based firm, is in a meeting with the other top level corporate executives. They are discussing whether it is a good strategy for the firm to open a branch in Amsterdam. In her role as head of HR, Georgiana must a. concentrate on being a team player and raise no objection to this expansion. b. raise the ethical issues of opening a branch in a country known for legalization of soft drugs, prostitution, and other "alternative lifestyles.." c. frankly explain that the firm's current human talent pool does not have the capabilities to handle the expansion. d. meet the strategy's requirement no matter what the current state of the company's human talent pool.

Germaine applied for an opening at Rotary Propulsion Systems (RPS) in May and took the company's aptitude test for entry-level management jobs. RPS did not call Germaine back for a second interview until September, and at that time, Germaine took the aptitude test again. Germaine's scores on the test were significantly different in May than in September. This is an indication that the test may not be a. valid. b. predictable. c. reliable. d. statistically significant.

Gloria recently earned her bachelor's in HR. She has just started her first exempt-level HR job. What is the earliest time that Gloria can be certified as a PHR (assuming she has passed the PHR exam)? a. after seven years of exempt-level HR experience b. after four years of exempt-level HR experience c. after two years of exempt-level experience d. after one year of exempt-level experience

HR planners can gain all the following data from governmental sources, such as state or regional economic development offices EXCEPT a. labor force populations. b. industry trends. c. estimates of dysfunctional turnover. d. net migration into a region.

Hector Graphics, Inc., is laying off a number of its skilled designers because of the loss of some major clients. Priam Designs, Inc., is Hector Graphics' major competitor. Priam Designs landed a couple of Hector Graphics' old clients, and Priam Designs expects to gain more clients in the next 12 months. As the HR director of Priam Designs, Inc., you approach the CEO to ___________________. You believe that this will maintain morale at Priam Designs while increasing its numbers of designers. a. advise terminating 15 percent of Priam Designs' lowest-performing designers and replacing them with high-quality former Hector Graphics designers. b. discuss freezing designers' salaries at Priam Designs because Priam Designs' designers will have fewer alternative employers in the area now that Hector Graphics has downsized. Then you will hire new Priam Designs employees at the frozen salaries. c. propose that new designer positions should be created at Priam Designs for designers so that you can hire the best designers Hector Graphics is laying off. d. outsource design work to laid-off Hector Graphics designers as independent contractors because they will be eager for any work, and they will be willing to work for lower salaries without medical and other benefits.

Henry, an upper-level manager at a software design firm, is talking informally with his colleagues over dinner. "The idea of quotas makes me uncomfortable," he says. "I think that we should just treat everyone equally, regardless of how people vary from one another. A person is a person." Henry is expressing the philosophy behind a. affirmative action programs. b. quid pro quo theory of employment opportunity.. c. the "blind to differences" approach. d. racist and sexist organizational practices.

Herman is the newly-hired director of HR for a department store. Herman's major objective is to improve sales staff productivity. After careful observation, Herman has discovered that staffing levels in each department are maintained at the bare minimum in order to save labor costs. The store's competitive strategy is reflected in the motto "Quality Customer Service: Each Time, Every Time." Herman concludes that a. the job description of sales staff must be redesigned so that the staff can perform both sales and customer service activities. b. the organization should be restructured so that sales staff do not have to report to a sales manager. c. the HR activities of the store are not aligned to contribute to organizational effectiveness. d. the company should consider hiring contractors to increase the number of sales staff in each department.

If an employer plans to tap nontraditional workers, it should be prepared to do all of the following EXCEPT a. be flexible in work scheduling. b. invest in training for workers. c. pre-adapt its work stations for all major disabilities. d. cooperate with non-profit groups who work with people with protected classes.

If an organization wants to know how competitive it is with other firms for top job candidates, it would learn the most from analysis of a. yield ratios. b. success base ratios. c. acceptance ratios. d. fill rates.

In the ____ approach for choosing among applicants, a minimum cutoff score is set on each predictor, and to be considered, each applicant must have at least the minimum score on each predictor. a. universal predictor b. compensatory c. multiple hurdles d. combined

Inez, the vice-president of HR for a chain of international luxury hotels, is considering implementing a competency-based approach to job analysis in her organization because of its ability to contribute to organizational success. She expects that important competencies needed by mid-level managers in her hotel will include all of the following EXCEPT a. intense focus on customer needs and desires. b. being an effective communicator. c. expertise in designing transaction software. d. having the ability to resolve customer and hotel staff complaints.

Job design can affect all of the following EXCEPT a. absenteeism. b. job satisfaction. c. organizational strategy. d. job performance.

Josh was laid off at age 39 from a position as Chief Financial Officer for a medium-sized agricultural products firm in Nebraska. The company had been acquired by a larger corporation, and it laid off all the executives of the acquired firm. Josh has looked for work intensely for two years, but the downturn has hit Nebraska hard, and opportunities are scarce. Josh has lost his medical benefits and he is willing to take any job he can get. Josh has heard repeatedly that he is over-qualified and that his computer skills are outdated. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Josh is not covered by the ADEA since he was originally laid off at age 39. b. Josh is not covered by the ADEA since he is only 42 and the ADEA cutoff is age 50. c. "Overqualified" is often a code word for age discrimination. Josh may be a victim of age discrimination. d. Josh is a white male, and he is more likely a victim of reverse discrimination since there are very few minority job seekers in Nebraska.

Karl handles the HR duties in a small commercial bakery of only 16 employees. Nine of these employees are bakery assistants with the same job duties. Karl has decided to make a list of the bakery assistants placing the best employee at the top and the worst employee at the bottom, with the other bakery assistants placed in between according to how they compare with the best and the worst employees. He is fairly satisfied that this system will work for his small company. Karl is using the ____ system. a. checklist b. graphic rating scale c. ranking d. forced distribution

Kurt, one of the sales representatives, has been sending Susie, another sales representative who he met at a corporate retreat, text messages and emails requesting dates. This has gone on for about six months. Susie politely refused at first, and now ignores all of Kurt's messages. Now, Kurt is sending Susie poems he has written about her physical attributes. Susie is dreading the next corporate retreat because Kurt has said he will be waiting for her. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Unless there is an existing HR policy on inappropriate electronic technology usage, Kurt cannot be disciplined, since "hostile environment" only applies to the physical work environment. b. Kurt is just a "loser" guilty only of socially-inept behavior. Susie would be over-reacting to report this to HR, and if she does report this to her manager or HR, she should be told that Kurt is harmless. c. This is cyber-stalking. Susie should report Kurt to her manager, and Kurt should be disciplined in accordance with the company's electronic technology usage policy. d. This does not rise to the level of cyber-stalking because Kurt has not made any threats against Susie. If Kurt does make threats, Susie should immediately inform her manager and HR.

Legally, for the person submitting an electronic job application to be counted as an "applicant," the requirements include all of the following EXCEPT a. the person has been ranked using "hit features" of the employer software. b. the person possesses the minimum KSAs required for the job. c. the person has received confirmation from the employer of his/her inquiry. d. the person must have expressed interest in a particular position and is being considered by the employer.

Lisa is a project manager for a large consulting firm. She supervises multiple project teams over a single year. Often, the teams work at distant locations, so Lisa rarely meets with every employee on each project team. Nevertheless, Lisa's company requires her to conduct performance appraisals on each team member. Lisa is concerned that her performance appraisals will not hold up in court if the one of her subordinates later sues for discrimination. Lisa is correct to be concerned because in the present performance appraisal system a. one manager evaluates each employee. b. individuals are being evaluated even though they work on teams. c. the manager has little personal knowledge of and contact with the appraised individual. d. this type of evaluation is prima facie evidence of disparate impact.

Marginal functions are those duties that are part of a job a. that a disabled person cannot perform. b. that most disabled individuals can perform with minor assistance. c. that are incidental or ancillary to the job. d. are required job functions that are covered under the "miscellaneous" clause in the job description.

The main pressure behind U.S. firms resulting in facility closings, international outsourcing, and decreasing their labor costs is from a. intense domestic competition. b. obsolescence of plant and equipment in the U.S. manufacturing sector. c. global competition. d. the growth in information technology.

Neil, the director of HR for a paper mill, has found that the supervisors in the company give very generous and lenient appraisals to their subordinates, and it is difficult to determine from these appraisals which employees deserve pay raises more than others. Neil has decided to implement a ____ approach to performance appraisal to address this problem. a. graphic rating scale b. management-by-objectives c. forced distribution d. peer evaluation

Of the following steps in the development of an MBO performance appraisal system, _____________ falls earliest in the process. a. continuous performance discussions between the subordinate and the supervisor. b. setting objectives for individual employees based on organizational objectives. c. developing accurate job descriptions d. devising performance standards

Performance appraisals at Swamp Blossom Designs, Inc., always occur on the employee's anniversary of employment. A standard protocol is in place to report managerial impressions and observations on employee performance. This is an example of a. objective evaluation. b. subjective evaluation. c. systematic appraisal. d. informal appraisal.

Perspectivo, Inc., is a company that is growing rapidly both in sales and in numbers of employees. The culture of the firm is informal and highly-collaborative. The employees are highly psychologically invested in the success of the organization and tend to subordinate their personal lives to the organization's needs. Perspectivo is acquiring Vanishing Point, a smaller company in the same industry that has a traditional, formal culture in which there is a clear separation of work and non-work, and employees tend to "leave work at work." In order to change the culture of Vanishing Point to be more like the Perspectivo culture, HR should do all of the following EXCEPT a. provide examples of desired behavior to the Vanishing Point employees. b. communicate requirements clearly and consistently to Vanishing Point employees. c. allow more diversity in attitudes toward work in the merged companies. d. reward change in behavior by Vanishing Point employees.

The "new" psychological contract between employers and employees includes the expectation that the employer will provide the employee with a. secure jobs. b. career progression within the organization. c. career development opportunities. d. steadily increasing pay.

The COO of ButtonVox is unwilling to authorize an attitude survey of employees that has been proposed by the director of HR. The COO has used several aphorisms to counter the HR director's arguments: "Let sleeping dogs lie." "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." "Don't ask, don't tell." and "This will just open up a can of worms." The HR director suspects that the COO is most concerned that a. it will be difficult to keep employee responses to the survey confidential. b. employees will suspect an organizational restructuring is being considered and morale will decline. c. survey results would force him to make changes in organization management practices that he would prefer to avoid. d. the survey results will reveal that employee compensation is not competitive.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, requires employers to a. cooperate with annual audits of HR records by ICE agents. b. send copies of all documents submitted by employees to the Immigration and Naturalization Service within 48 hours of hiring. c. determine whether the job applicant is a U.S. citizen, registered alien, or illegal alien, within 72 hours of hiring. d. contact the Department of Homeland Security within 24 hours if an illegal alien applies for a job with a government contractor, in the transportation sector or in sensitive industries.

The ____ approach to job analysis considers how the employees' knowledge and skills are used. a. traditional b. individual responsibility c. competency d. knowledge-based

The collective value of the capabilities, knowledge, skills, life experiences and motivation of an organizational workforce is called a. the organization's talent inventory. b. total human resources. c. human capital. d. the organization's intellectual assets.

The employee attitude survey conducted by a financial services firm three months ago has been analyzed. Although employees are generally satisfied with their pay, the survey revealed strong and generalized dissatisfaction with the organization's management style, promotion practices and training programs. As director of HR, you recommend a. sending an email to employees thanking them for their participation. b. announcing the positive survey results, while beginning to work in private on solutions to the problems revealed by the negative results. c. holding group meetings with employees to convey the positive and negative survey results and to get suggestions for making improvements. d. communicating the positive survey results, while rebutting the negative results.

The great advantage of structured selection interviews over unstructured interviews is their a. naturalness and ability to set the candidate at ease. b. effectiveness at organizational branding. c. consistency in evaluation of candidates. d. flexibility in pursuing unexpected information about the candidate.

The internal supply of an organization is affected by all the following EXCEPT a. promotions. b. training and development programs. c. graduation rates from local colleges. d. lateral transfers.

The labor market in the region is fairly tight. As recruiting director for Clarendon County Medical Center, you need a number of patient aides, practical nurses, and technicians, as well as medical receptionists and insurance clerks. The upcoming job fair that will be most useful for meeting your recruiting goals will be a. a general job fair in the Clarendon County Auditorium. b. a nationwide virtual job fair for experienced medical professionals. c. a job fair for a consortium of regional vocational and technical schools with medical programs. d. a drive-through job fair held at the local mall.

The major provision of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 is that a. pregnant employees are to be given 12 weeks family leave without pay. b. pregnant employees are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. c. maternity leave is to be treated the same as other personal or medical leaves. d. employers can not discriminate against employees based on marital status.

The most restrictive job descriptions exist in a. service industries. b. white-collar jobs. c. unionized workforces. d. technical jobs.

The performance appraisal interview is a type of feedback system. The components of a feedback system include all of the following EXCEPT a. evaluation of data. b. data. c. acceptance of the evaluation as fair. d. action based on the evaluation.

The process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for organizational jobs is called a. requisitioning. b. pre-screening. c. recruiting d. selection.

The purpose of a/an ____ is to obtain additional information on a candidate and to clarify information gathered throughout the selection process. a. personality test b. application form c. selection interview d. reference check

The recruiter for Asphodel Photo Supply is scanning a résumé. The individual, a woman, is highly qualified for the position which Asphodel has open. The position requires two weeks of travel per month. Her résumé has a section headed "Hobbies and Activities." In this section, she lists membership in a club called "Parents of Multiples," an organization for parents who have twins and other multiple-birth children. a. Since the applicant has voluntarily submitted this information, the recruiter can legally use this information in the hiring decision. b. The individual included illegal information on her résumé, which justifies the recruiter in discarding the application. c. Legally, the recruiter cannot use this information in making a selection decision. d. The recruiter should ask the applicant how she plans to arrange for care of her children during travel assignments.

The recruiter interviewing for customer service telephone representatives tells the applicants that many of the callers are upset and angry, and that some will even use offensive language when speaking with the representatives. The recruiter also informs the applicants that they will be required to be polite, helpful and professional in dealing with all callers, and that their calls will be monitored by their supervisor. They will also work in windowless cubicle in rooms holding 100 other customer service representatives. The applicants are allowed to listen to a selection of pre-recorded actual customer calls and shown the room in which they will work. This is an example of a. pre-employment screening. b. a stress interview.. c. a realistic job preview. d. a situational interview.

The requirements for specific government-issued licenses or professional certifications define ________ labor markets. a. global b. industry c. technical d. government civil service

The simplified turnover costing model for a particular job requires the following data: the typical annual pay for the job, percentage of pay for benefits multiplied by the annual pay, the number of voluntary quits in the last year and ____ as well as other information. a. temporary replacements and overtime costs until the employee is replaced. b. average cost of pre-employment medical and drug tests c. the number of months it takes for one employee to become fully productive d. average training and development costs for a new hire in this job

The three phases of business processes re-engineering are a. analyze, diagnose, design b. unfreezing, changing, refreezing. c. rethink, redesign, retool. d. job analysis, job description, job specification.

The two general uses of performance appraisal, which are often in conflict, are a. salary administration and discipline. b. training and development. c. administrative and development. d. coaching and career planning

The use of temporary workers would be most appropriate in which of the following situations? a. The company has a high rate of turnover among its regular employees b. The employer has received a long-term contract from the Federal government for oceanic research. c. A tax preparation company handles mostly individuals and has few business clients. d. The organization is a start-up company with a competitive strategy of continuing expert customer service.

The work sampling type of observation a. gives a more detailed picture of the work than continuous observation. b. is useful for both routine and non-routine jobs. c. determines the content and pace of a typical workday through statistical sampling of current actions. d. is more expensive to conduct than continuous observation because of the statistical calculations involved.

There is an opening in the marketing department at SixDee, Inc. All the applicants invited for an in-depth interview must walk past the marketing staff's cubicles, so each marketing employee can see each applicant. Steve, one of the employees, sees a man with gray hair walking into the marketing manager's office for an interview. Steve remarks, "What a geezer! I guess we're going to go after nursing home accounts." Steve's remark is most reflective of a. snap judgment. b. negative emphasis. c. stereotyping. d. cultural noise.

Top executives of an organization truly view the top HR executive as contributing to the strategic success of the firm when they request the HR manager to a. streamline the employee selection process. b. improve the implementation of performance appraisals for supervisors. c. evaluate potential merger candidates for organizational compatibility. d. select a vendor for outsourcing benefits administration.

Traditional ratings of employees by supervisors is based on the assumption that a. employees are more receptive to criticism from their immediate supervisors than from other sources such as co-workers or managers who are not their direct supervisors. b. supervisors have regular day-to-day opportunities for informal appraisals. c. the supervisor is the person most qualified to evaluate the employee's performance realistically and fairly. d. supervisors are more aware of their subordinates' desires and goals than are other potential evaluators.

What can employers do in order to comply with the EEOC requirements of reporting the race and sex of applicants? a. Collect the data after the hiring decision has been made. b. Gather the information on the application blank during the pre-screening process. c. Ask the applicant to provide EEOC reporting data on a form separate from the application blank. d. Make a visual assessment during the initial selection process and record the race and sex of applicants on the application form.

When an organization ignores diversity issues a. it enables employees to get along with one another because no employees are being singled out for preferential treatment on the basis of their race, gender or other non-job-related attributes. b. the amount of conflict within the organization is reduced, because disputes based on non-job-related characteristics are resolved internally. c. it is exposed to potential lawsuits by protected class employees. d. the organization can focus on strategic issues that enhance the organization's sustainable success.

When using benchmarking a. HR managers are able to identify the reasons why HR functions are below standard. b. the resulting statistics are comparable across organizations and industries. c. it is best to compare ratios from year to year. d. it is best to collect the data on an as-needed basis rather than on a rigid time schedule.

Which of the following HR policies would be LEAST effective in reducing environmental effects and energy costs created by the organizations? a. telecommuting. b. global virtual work teams. c. flextime. d. compressed work week.

Which of the following best describes the responsibility for HR planning? a. HR planning is mainly the responsibility of the top HR executive. b. Typically, HR planning is the responsibility of operating managers. c. HR planning requires cooperation of HR professionals with organizational executives and managers. d. HR planning is the responsibility of the organization's top management.

Which of the following comments by a supervisor during an appraisal interview illustrates the development function of performance appraisal? a. Unless you are able to meet your quota next quarter, you will be terminated. b. How can I support your sales efforts better in the coming year? c. I am going to pair you with Alex for a month so that you can learn his technique in closing sales. d. Next year the dollar amount of contracts you must sell for an acceptable rating will be increased 10%.

Which of the following is FALSE about workplace romances? a. Relationships between a supervisor and a subordinate are of more concern than relationships between employees at the same level of hierarchy. b. Even consensual workplace romances can cause hostile work environments for other employees. c. It is an illegal invasion of privacy for organizations to have policies banning or regulating relationships between consenting employees. d. About 40% of workers admit that they have dated co-workers

Which of the following is TRUE about the Fair Credit Reporting Act? a. The use of credit reports for employment purposes is illegal unless the job involves the use of, access to, or management of money. b. It is legal to require credit checks on some applicants for the same job and not on other applicants if the hiring organization has "reasonable cause." c. An employer must disclose that a credit check is being made and obtain written consent from the person being checked. d. Credit agencies are liable for damages if false credit information is disclosed about a job candidate.

Which of the following is a characteristic of computerized job analysis? a. difficulty in identifying mismatches between job scores and salary survey data b. lack of legal precedent for using computerized job analysis to defend lawsuits c. a reduction in the time and effort involved in writing job descriptions d. results cannot be used to develop job evaluation weights

Which of the following organizational events would NOT affect HR planning? a. revisions of the state's licensing requirements for key professional jobs in the organization. b. technological changes in the manufacturing process. c. changing the IT software used by the company. d. opening a branch office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Which of the following reasons is the most important reason for assessing the external workforce when doing HR planning? a. the limited supply of potential employees for all jobs in the firm. b. the uncertainty of the organization's internal labor market. c. the organization must draw from the same labor market that supplies all other employers. d. the organization must meet certain affirmative action quotas.

Which of the following statements about organizational culture is FALSE? a. The organization's culture is seen in its norms of expected behaviors, values, philosophies, rituals and symbols. b. An organization's rules of behavior may not be beneficial and may limit the organization's performance. c. Organizational cultures are static, and tend to remain almost identical to the culture established by the founder. d. Values determine how organizational members treat coworkers and people outside the organization.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Although each merger and acquisition has its own challenges, it is possible to take a systematic approach to integrating an acquired company into an existing company. b. Poorly-addressed HR issues such as culture clashes are responsible for a significant number of merger and acquisition failures. c. More than half of mergers and acquisitions are successful in meeting financial, marketing or product gains. d. HR due diligence in an acquisition focuses on legal compliance, compensation and benefit programs, the quality of talent, and labor contract obligations.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Employment tests that can be "gamed"by cheaters make the fairness of a testing system suspect. b. The more important the employment test, the more likely it is to be targeted by cheaters. c. Electronic assessments are growing in use because they are harder for job applicants to "game" than are paper-and-pencil tests or interviews. d. If an employer's test is easy to fake or to cheat on, it makes it more likely that the applicants hired by the company are dishonest people.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Some cities and states have made discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal. b. Veterans of the Vietnam War have additional employment protections over veterans of other wars. c. An individual whose mother is Polynesian and whose father is Native American would not be a member of a protected class. d. Individuals under 40 are not protected from age discrimination

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The failure rate for global assignments can run as high as 40% to 50%. b. If a U.S. company with a foreign operation hires a citizen of a third country, U.S. employment laws apply. c. Foreign companies operating in the U.S. do not have to obey EEO laws because they are allowed to prefer to hire their own nationals. d. A realistic job preview is essential for employees taking an overseas assignment.

Which of the following statements is TRUE with regard to personality and mental ability tests? a. Tests of general mental ability have been demonstrated to not discriminate against protected classes. b. Personality tests can predict the long term career success of an individual, but not performance on a particular job. c. Recent research shows that personality explains little about actual job outcomes. d. Personality tests are rarely used today as a selection device because of applicant objections to invasion of privacy.

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. It is illegal for an employer to continue to hire new employees at the same time it is laying off other employees. b. When long-service employees leave the firm, the turnover is often functional because they no longer act as a brake on the introduction of new technology and new work processes. c. The turnover of poor performers is considered functional, so HR managers find that turnover of minor concern. d. Involuntary turnover is turnover that the organization has no control over.

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. The HR function in the organization is largely insulated from unethical behaviors. b. The HR department is largely responsible for the unethical behaviors of employees in the organization. c. HR management is the voice of organizational ethics. d. HR management must focus on clearly illegal behaviors within the firm and leave ethics up to the conscience of each individual manager.

Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Twitter is little-used by recruiters because of the 140-word limit. b. The broad reach of Internet recruiting has significantly reduced the amount of discrimination against minority job seekers because it enlarges the applicant population exponentially over traditional recruiting methods. c. If a recruiter checks an applicant's Facebook account, learns that the applicant is Jewish, and then rejects the applicant, the company may be exposed to an EEO discrimination complaint. d. An advantage of Internet recruiting is that it streamlines EEO data gathering because everyone who accesses a job website is considered an applicant for legal purposes.

Why are job-related, non-discriminatory and documented performance appraisals necessary when organizations terminate employees? a. They help explain the connection between merit and seniority. b. They provide developmental information to the employees. c. They are a legal defense if employees sue over such decisions. d. They are an important input to the strategic planning process.

Woodmere Production Company employees over 2,000 hourly workers. The HR department is debating the introduction of web-based technology to handle employment applications, employee benefit enrollments and other related functions. The move to this technology will most affect the HR department's ____ role. a. strategic b. operational c. administrative d. employee advocate

___ occurs when the candidate gives responses that are believed to be socially acceptable rather than factual. a. Manipulation b. Prevarication c. Cultural noise d. First impression bias

____ indicate what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the job description. a. Employee specifications b. Job criteria c. Performance standards d. Employee competencies

f an employer lists the designation EEO/M-F/AA/ADA in its employment advertisements it indicates a. the employer must preferentially hire minorities and disabled persons. b. the company has been found liable in a discrimination lawsuit. c. the employer has a policy of complying with equal employment regulations. d. the employer has found disparate impact in its workforce and is seeking to remedy it by encouraging diversity in job applicants.

he Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 was passed to ensure that a. pension plans are administered in a responsible manner and that the pension plans have appropriate financial backing. b. early retirees between the ages of 55 and 65 receive medical benefits from their former employer. c. employees must be given complete and accurate information about the benefits of any severance package if they must sign liability waivers for age discrimination. d. employees over the age of 40 would not have their medical benefits reduced or have their medical insurance premiums raised merely because older employees are heavy users of health care.

"Multisource" rating, also called ____, recognizes that employee performance crosses departmental, organizational and, in some cases, global boundaries. a. team appraisal b. global rating c. field review d. 360° feedback

1. Some organizations are using virtual online communities to screen possible hires. All of the following are potential aspects of using avatars and a virtual setting that are different from traditional recruiting methods EXCEPT a. protected class applicants could mask their status by creating an avatar with "traditional" characteristics. b. applicants may be more relaxed in responding to recruiters' questions. c. more tech-savvy applicants would have advantages over less technologically-skilled applicants. d. virtual reality interviewing could replace traditional selection methods in coming years.

A consumer market research firm has high turnover at its call center in suburban Minneapolis. It is paying competitive wages and benefits and the HR department has instituted the best turnover management practices available. But, the level of voluntary and uncontrollable turnover remains high. Nevertheless, the firm's productivity is one of the highest in the industry, and employee satisfaction level is at the industry average. The firm's HR manager needs to a. work with management to increase performance standards. b. improve its corporate image with employees. c. strengthen its absenteeism management policies. d. make sure that hiring keeps up with replacement needs.

A job ____ identifies what is done, why it is done, where it is done, and briefly, how it is done. a. analysis b. performance standard c. specification d. description

A major trend regarding diversity is that a. as women have become almost 50% of the workforce, fewer work-family tensions exist. b. out of political and philosophical convictions many people refuse to classify themselves as any racial or ethnic group. c. the American "melting pot" has resulted in less ethnic and cultural diversity in the U.S. workforce. d. with the retirement of baby boomers, employers will experience a "brain drain."

A noted economist is not applying for a position as a professor at a large university even though he is well-qualified for the position. The economist's wife is dean of the college of business administration, where the economics department is housed. The economist is prevented from applying for this job because of the university's policy on a. employing non-citizens. The economist is Icelandic and has a work visa. b. the hiring of male faculty. This is a women's university. c. affirmative action. The economist is a white male. d. nepotism. Jillian would be her husband's boss.

A nursing home is opening in a mid-sized Northwestern city. It would be most logical for the organization to recruit for patient aides in the ____ labor market. The job pays just above minimum wage. a. Northwestern states b. statewide c. three-county d. city

A rumor has been circulating at the largest law firm in the city that the partners are considering outsourcing much of the work of the paralegals in the firm to a company in India. If you were a paralegal at this firm, what would be your most appropriate attitude or action? a. Relax. Work of this level of professionalism cannot be outsourced to a foreign firm. b. Relax. Work that requires intimate knowledge of the U.S. legal system cannot be outsourced. c. Consider your options. Only occupations that are dying are considered for outsourcing. d. Consider your options. The firm can generate huge labor cost savings by outsourcing your job.

A school district hired a school bus driver without doing a multi-state criminal background check. It checked only in the state in which the school is located. Subsequently, the school bus driver was convicted of kidnapping one of the children who rode his bus. The prosecution in the case revealed that the driver had been convicted ten years earlier of possession of child pornography in another state. The school district is guilty of a. dereliction of duty. b. employment misfeasance. c. incompetent selection. d. negligent hiring.

A tweet would be most appropriate to send out a. confidential company data. b. an explanation of the reasons behind a mass layoff. c. notification to the next-of-kin that an employee had been killed in an accident. d. an alert about a policy change needing immediate implementation.

A/an ____ appraisal is conducted as part of the day-to-day working relationship between a manager and an employee. a. spontaneous b. systematic c. developmental d. informal

A/an ____ is a grouping of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that constitutes the total work assignment for employees. a. assignment b. position c. employment specification d. job

A/an ____ is issued by the president of the United States to provide direction to government departments on a specific area. a. federal mandate b. presidential directive c. legislative initiative d. executive order

As HR manager for a building supply retailer, you are offering employees 16 hours of paid time off for them to work as a group on a Habitat for Humanity construction project. You hope to improve retention of these employees by a. increasing employee engagement in their work. b. demonstrating organizational support for their personal development. c. offsetting low pay with intangible rewards from charitable work. d. encouraging friendships among co-workers.

Albert is an assistant store manager for a national discount retailer. When Albert was denied a promotion to store manager he filed a claim based on religious discrimination with the EEOC, which was eventually denied. After the claim, Albert was transferred to be the assistant store manager at a location requiring a 97-mile round trip commute that takes about four hours of travel time per day. His previous worksite had been only 15 minutes from his home. a. Since Albert retained his position in the company as an assistant store manager and he kept the same pay level, this is not retaliation. b. This action is ex post facto evidence of retaliation. c. The employer is not vulnerable to a charge of retaliation because Albert's charge of discrimination was denied. d. This action could be considered retaliation.

Alicia is an assistant HR manager for one of the largest law firms in the state. She has been assigned to estimate and categorize the outflows from the law firm's ranks of paralegals. All of the following types of organizational turnover would be considered controllable turnover EXCEPT a. termination of paralegals for poor performance. b. layoff of surplus paralegals at a branch location. c. promotion of a paralegal to a management position. d. retirements of paralegals.

All of the following are recommendations for making a performance appraisal system more effective and more defensible legally EXCEPT a. the use of specific, objective criteria and standards. b. involve employees in planning and designing the program. c. train managers and review their ratings to ensure favoritism is not involved. d. use multisource methods of performance appraisal.

All of the following are requirements for performance appraisal supported by the courts and the EEOC EXCEPT a. performance criteria must be based on job analysis. b. appraisal activities must be documented. c. the rater must have personal knowledge of and contact with the appraised individual. d. performance criteria must be numerical and objective.

All of the following are useful ways to integrate Hispanic employees into a majority-dominated workplace EXCEPT a. English language classes.. b. social events attractive to all workers. c. work groups that include Hispanic workers. d. mandating an English-only workplace.

All the following are reasons to outsource an organizational function EXCEPT a. the function is noncore to the organization. b. another firm has greater economies-of-scale and can provide the service cheaper. c. the organization does not have employees with the necessary skills to perform the function. d. the function has legal compliance issues that the organization can push "downstream" to the outsourcing company.

Ambitious employees would be LEAST motivated to stay with the firm by which of the following programs a. an organizational commitment to promotion from within. b. good training and development programs. c. extensive formal and informal mentoring by senior organization members. d. employee of the month recognition.

Ambrose was rated as having average performance levels when he worked in the design department of the Midwestern region of the company. Last year Ambrose was transferred to the Northeastern region where he holds the same job. Although Ambrose's production numbers have been consistent, he has been rated as an outstanding performer this year. It is most likely that Ambrose's varying performance appraisals have been affected by the ____ error. a. central tendency b. primacy c. halo d. contrast

An example of a ____ for a solar power company customer representative would be the ability to accurately calculate the number and arrangement of solar panels to go on a roof. a. job description b. job responsibility c. performance standard d. job specification

An integrated system providing information used by HR managers in decision making is a a. human resource administrative system b. human resource operational system c. human resource information system d. human resource management system.

Angus is a bus driver for a tour bus company. He's had an excellent driving record for the 15 years that he's been working for the company. Last year Angus was on medical leave for 8 weeks for a back injury that has left him in chronic pain. Recently, Angus' co-workers have noticed that he has been behaving erratically and has been falling asleep in the employee lounge. If Angus has an accident while driving one of the tour buses because of the effects of his prescription pain medication and passengers are injured, the company might be liable for a. failure to conduct a thorough background check on Angus. b. negligent hiring. c. criminal negligence. d. negligent retention.

Anthony's performance has been lower in the last six months than his average in the previous three years. Anthony's supervisor wants to understand if there are reasons within the organization's control that are causing Anthony's performance to slide. Anthony's job assignment has not changed, so the supervisor must consider all of the following factors EXCEPT a. whether Anthony is having trouble working with new job software. b. if Anthony's new co-workers are poor performers. c. whether the supervisor herself has changed how she manages Anthony. d. if Anthony's capabilities have changed.

Arden Glassworks has been the major employer in the town of Arden for over 20 years, drawing mainly on the low and semi-skilled labor force. Now, a large telephone marketing firm is opening an operation in Arden which will also employ low and semi-skilled workers. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Since Arden and the marketing firm are in different industries, the impact on Arden's workforce will be minimal. b. Arden will need to offer higher pay and benefits to its employees in order to keep them from moving to the new employer. c. The marketing firm would only open a new operation in a geographic location that has a low average wage so that it can minimize labor costs. Consequently, there will be no upward pressure on the wages and benefits Arden must pay. d. Since Arden and the marketing firm are in the same geographic area, Arden will need to consider the pay scales and benefits the new firm will offer.

As a vendor providing automated performance appraisal products, you would probably be able to promise purchasers of your system all of the following EXCEPT a. ease of use compared to manual performance appraisal systems. b. time savings compared to manual performance appraisal systems. c. aggregation of performance information. d. lower total costs compared to manual performance appraisal systems.

As director of HR for a large regional car dealership with 10 locations, Ed must calculate the potential return on investment (ROI) of implementing a new training program to improve car salespersons' effectiveness in convincing new car buyers to finance the car through the dealership. In order to calculate the ROI of the new training program, he needs to collect all of the following data EXCEPT a. the cost of developing and implementing the new training program. b. the dollar value of potential additional new car financing through the dealership in the year following the training program. c. the costs of running update seminars on the new methods for salespersons for one year following the initial training. d. the cost of outsourcing training programs for car salespersons.

As director of HR, you are organizing the process of analyzing all the jobs in the organization. Because your employer is an oil exploration firm with many engineers and scientists a. you will rely heavily on these employees to complete task diaries because knowledge workers willingly cooperate with this type of request. b. work sampling would be the most cost effective, unobtrusive and accurate method of collecting task data. c. much of the needed data can be collected by observation because most of these jobs have an observable cycle. d. you will have to call on many subject matter experts for panel interviews.

At High Flyer Airlines, managers rate their subordinates on a continuum from 1 to 7. A score of 1 indicates unsatisfactory performance, and a score of 7 indicates superior performance. High Flyer uses a ____ as its performance appraisal method. a. ranking system b. checklist c. multisource appraisal d. graphic rating scale

Attrition to reduce an employee surplus is most useful when a. employee morale in the organization is low. b. hiring programs are not affected. c. the workforce reduction is needed in the short-term. d. turnover rates in the organization are high.

Backroads Merchandise, an Oklahoma-based manufacturer of outdoors and sports products, is facing a pronounced downturn in business due to lower-priced products from foreign competitors. Top management is concerned that this will be a permanent or long-term problem and they have decided to reduce the number of employees. The CEO has conferred with the director of HR to learn which method of reducing the workforce will be received better by both the employees leaving and the employees remaining behind. The CEO also wishes to minimize the cost of the reduction process. The director of HR has suggested the use of a. layoffs with the option of re-hire when business revives. b. voluntary separations with severance. c. greater use of contingent workers. d. attrition combined with a hiring freeze.

Because job analysis information is often used for compensation purposes, employees and managers have a tendency to a. cooperate with the job analyst. b. exaggerate their competencies. c. use this as an opportunity to request raises. d. inflate the importance and significance of their jobs.

Benjamin is an American engineer who is a consultant with a German engineering consulting firm. Currently, Benjamin is assigned to a project in South Korea where he will live for the next year. Benjamin is a/an a. expatriate. b. host-country national. c. emigrant worker. d. third-country national.

Brownbrass, Inc., has instituted a multisource rating system. The results will be used for both developmental and administrative purposes, such as compensation and promotion decisions. As an HR consultant hired by the organization, you can predict that a. there will be fewer legal issues with this system than with a supervisory rating system. b. the employees will view the multisource ratings as more valid than if they were rated only by their supervisors. c. there will be little variation in performance ratings across sources. d. the performance ratings will be inflated.

Chipper, the only grandchild of the founder of a successful commercial construction firm has just graduated from a noted university with a Ph.D. in zoology. Chipper is taking a year's research fellowship at the San Diego Zoo to study tiger genetics. The top management positions in the firm have been held by family members since 1911. Chipper's father, a civil engineer, is the present CEO. He is 72 and has recently had heart surgery. The firm usually generates about $300 million in government bridge highway projects per year. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. This business has a succession problem. b. Years ago, this firm should have focused on attracting and retaining outsiders with key capabilities. c. A SWOT analysis would reveal lack of talent in the pipeline as a threat. d. It is time for Chipper to get serious and fulfill his family responsibilities.

Cisco Systems HR department instituted ethics training based on the TV show American Idol. All of the following are advantages of this training technique EXCEPT a. the ethics training can be available constantly. b. employees are able to access the program during non-working hours. c. the ability to reach large numbers of employees. d. it facilitates face-to-face interaction of trainers and trainee-employees.

Clarence is the recruiting manager for a start-up firm of about 25 people. He realizes that he needs to be aware of disparate impact in hiring new staff. All but one of the current employees is of European descent. Which is Clarence's best bet as a recruiting source to find qualified Hispanic applicants? a. LinkedIn b. referrals of friends by current employees c. social networking sites d. placement office of a university with a high Hispanic enrollment

Figuring average time from contact to hire allows the firm to a. calculate the cost per hire. b. estimate the efficiency of recruiters. c. calculate the "float time" in the recruiting process. d. target the most time-efficient recruiting sources.

Clement is the vice-president of HR for a financial services firm than has recently acquired a competitor in the same line of business. The main threat to the smooth integration of the two firms is ___________________ which Clement hopes to break down by continuing the change efforts that were implemented in the early days of the acquisition. a. lack of knowledge, skills and abilities in the employees in the acquired organization b. continuing disruption of normal work by due diligence investigations c. legally mandated requirements that employees of the acquired company be given severance if they are laid off as a result of the acquisition d. an "us versus them" mentality between the acquiring and acquire firms' employees

Clement, the director of HR for an engineering firm, has noticed a high level of turnover by key engineers. In his investigation, he has found that they are moving to competing organizations for similar pay and benefits. Clement should a. increase the number of engineers hired to offset the high turnover rate. b. be more careful to hire engineers with a stable employment history. c. implement higher pay and benefits for key engineers. d. interview former key engineers to determine the true reason for their departure.

Clement, the director of staffing for a large advertising and public relations firm, is trying to estimate how many openings for web designers will be staffed from various sources: promotions, transfers, and new hires. Clement is determining the _________ for this job. a. "make or buy" ratio b. placement ratio c. staffing ratio d. fill rate

Collette is the director of HR for a large tax-preparation firm. The firm needs to quickly hire large numbers of tax preparers for tax season. Collette is short-staffed, so she plans to outsource much of the recruiting process without excessively limiting her final hiring decisions. Collette would find all of the following processes appropriate to outsource to a an employment agency EXCEPT a. Internet advertising placement. b. preliminary screening of résumés. c. design of advertisements. d. face-to-face interviews with finalists.

Considering the trends in HR, current HR departments compared to departments of twenty years ago would a. tend to have larger staffs. b. have more clerks than professional staff. c. be less likely to be strategic partners with top management. d. be more tightly linked with vendors of HR specialty services.

Curtis supervises a large number of clerical employees. Several of his female subordinates have had babies this year. Curtis has taken this into account when conducting the performance appraisals of these subordinates, because he knows that new mothers are frequently sleep-deprived and that this can negatively affect their accuracy and performance levels. Curtis raises these employees' evaluations higher than what they would have objectively been otherwise. Curtis has committed the error of a. leniency. b. similar to me. c. contrast. d. varying standards.

Data on job performance, absenteeism, cost of training and turnover of employees compared with their recruiting source helps organizations a. meet affirmative action goals. b. identify the most effective recruiters. c. refine the wording of web and print advertisements. d. identify which recruiting sources could be dropped.

Due to an urgent need to cut costs, Rotary Dial, Inc., has decided to eliminate its quarterly off-site training conference for managers at all four of its locations with video conferencing. This reduces travel costs significantly and allows the company to lay off two training staff. This is an example of a. organizational restructuring. b. aligning HR activities with organizational productivity efforts. c. outsourcing an organizational function. d. re-designing work.

Eclipse Executive Services offers ransom insurance policies for companies up to $10 million per kidnapping. This is an example of a business opportunity generated by which one of the following HR management challenges? a. ethical challenges b. economic and technological changes c. workforce demographics and diversity d. globalization of business

Emily works for a small architecture firm that has a dozen employees. Emily has discovered that she is pregnant. Which of the following statements is true under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? a. If the employer has a medical leave program for other circumstances, it must treat Emily's pregnancy the same way. b. Emily has job protection when she returns from maternity leave if she is one of the firm's architects, not if she is an hourly employee. c. Emily has job protection when she returns from maternity leave if she is an hourly employee, and not one of the firm's architects, who are professionals on salary and thus not protected by the PDA. d. Emily is not protected by the PDA.

Erin, the director of HR for a large insurance company, is evaluating locations in different states for appropriateness of relocating the company's headquarters. The external supply of potential workers plays a dominant role in the decision. Erin needs to analyze all of the following factors regarding the external supply of labor EXCEPT a. the number and types of graduates from schools and colleges in the different locations. b. economic forecasts for the next three years for the different locations. c. the anticipated shifts in the technology of the work processes in the insurance company. d. the anticipated attrition from each job in the organization for the next three years.

Factors that would be included in a SWOT analysis would include all of the following EXCEPT a. projected inflation rate for the next year. b. potential changes in union organizing legislation. c. the proportion of the available workforce who will be under age 30. d. innovations in payroll processing technology.

Fernando is an entrepreneur and his start-up company that provides small electricity-generating wind power for individual homes is growing. Fernando has asked you, an HR consultant, to help him set up HR systems for his company. Fernando is concerned that he will have to develop an affirmative action plan, and fears that this will severely restrict his ability to hire the kinds of employees he feels necessary. You tell Fernando that he will NOT have to develop an AAP plan as long as he does all the following EXCEPT a. he does not take any government contracts over $50,000. b. he keeps the number of employees under 50. c. his company does not engage in discriminatory practices and does not have a history of such practices. d. he keeps the company privately owned, e.g. the company stock does not trade on a stock exchange.

For legal reasons, Seneca Film Production, Inc., wishes to have a job analysis method that will lend itself to validity studies on selection tests. The company would be best advised to use a. panel interviews of SMEs. b. employee logs. c. observation of employees on the job. d. the Position Analysis Questionnaire.

For the last five years, the director of HR for BiscuitMan Foods has given all new hires an "interpersonal intelligence" test. Now, the director is asking his assistant to calculate the correlations between each employee's test score and his/her performance appraisals, promotion records and whether they have stayed with the firm or have left. The HR director is conducting a a. synthetic validity test. b. concurrent validity test. c. face-validity test. d. predictive validity test.

From the employer's point of view, a romance between ____________ would be of the most legal concern regarding potential exposure to a sexual harassment charge. The employer is a large, urban law firm. a. two partners of the firm of the same sex b. two paralegals of the opposite sexes, both of whom are married c. a female attorney and the vendor supplying the legal research software d. the managing partner (female) and a paralegal (male)

George supervises the work of 15 subordinates. These individuals are in a state-subsidized work program for the chronically-unemployed that is intended to help them learn good work habits and job skills that will allow them to move into jobs in the local economy. George is required to appraise his subordinates' performance each month. George a. should focus on positive feedback because these employees may have a low sense of self-efficacy and will be discouraged by negative feedback. b. must keep in mind that his performance appraisal may negatively affect the employee's ability to continue in this work program and the employee's ability to actually earn a living in the future. c. must emphasize the performance shortfalls of the employees so that they understand the competitive, win/lose environment they will be in when they get jobs in the local economy. d. owes each of these employees a true picture of his/her performance, no matter how difficult the conversation may be or how difficult the employee is.

Gerald is an experienced HR manager. In examining the content of an applicant's application form, he knows he will definitely need to check all of the following information EXCEPT a. the applicant's claim to have a master's degree from Michigan State University. b. the applicant's previous job title as Chief of Dietetics. c. the applicant's employment at the Veteran's Hospital from 1992 to 2007. d. the applicant's claim to be a member of a protected class.

Gisela has emerged from her interview with the managing editor of the large city newspaper. She is shaken and upset because the editor was insulting about her educational background, he pressured to answer confusing questions without time to collect her thoughts, and he asked her how she could deal with city politicians since she was a new graduate and "wet behind the ears." Gisela has experienced a ____ interview. a. situational b. non-directive c. realistic job preview d. stress

Glenda was transferred into her current department in October. In December, Glenda is required to evaluate her subordinates' performance. Glenda's ratings are likely to be affected by a. central tendency error. b. the varying standards effect. c. similar to me error. d. sampling error.

Glibb Design's interior decorators, designers, and architects work together in self-managing work groups. This structure is key to the organization's culture and it is important that new hires fit in with the work group to which they are assigned. In this case, it would be wise to use a. multiple-hurdle interviews. b. situational interviews. c. panel interviews. d. team interviews.

HR staffers are LEAST likely to make the final hiring decisions when ____ positions are filled. a. administrative and clerical b. supervisory c. entry-level d. middle management.

Henry, the production manager for a chemical plant, resents what he feels are unwarranted intrusions into his territory by HR managers. Henry feels that his relationships with his employees are strong and supportive, and that HR initiatives generally cause unnecessary trouble and complications. a. Henry is correct, because the HR function is a support and staff function and should not intrude on day-to-day management functions. b. HR managers have the sole responsibility for the proper implementation of company policy regarding employees. Henry is subverting this process. c. Henry is probably committing major violations of company policy and wants to keep this secret from HR management. d. Henry would be surprised to learn that every manager, including him, is an HR manager.

How can recruiters easily and accurately track responses to advertisements in various media? a. Advertise different jobs in different media. b. Ask applicants where they learned of the position. c. Use only a few different media. d. Code ads in different media by using different contact names.

If an HR manager wished to estimate indirect labor, such as the number of compensation and benefits employees per 1,000 production workers, he/she would a. use a statistical regression analysis. b. calculate a productivity ratio. c. convene a nominal group. d. calculate a staffing ratio.

If most employees in an organization consider their pay raises inequitable, even though the organization uses performance-based compensation, the most likely cause is that a. the majority of employees are poor performers. b. the organization has an entitlement culture. c. the work performed by the organization does not lend itself to objective performance appraisal. d. some part of the appraisal process has failed.

In a selection test, validity refers to the a. strength of the correlation between a test score and a predictor. b. consistency with which the predictor actually tests the desired construct. c. applicant achieving approximately the same score in a test-retest situation. d. correlation between a predictor and job performance.

In order for any organizational strategy to be successful, the HR function must a. align with the "one best practice" to achieve worker productivity. b. move beyond the traditional HR focus on effectiveness and efficiency. c. develop the needed human competencies within the organization's existing workforce. d. having the right people in the right place at the right time.

In order to ward off a complaint of discrimination, every requirement for employment must be a. benchmarked against industry best practices. b. approved by the EEOC. c. consistent with past practice in the company. d. directly job related for the position.

In the ____ method, the manager keeps a written record of both highly favorable and unfavorable actions in an employee's performance during the entire rating period. a. checklist b. paired comparisons c. essay d. critical incident

In the typical division of HR responsibilities for selection, the HR unit will a. make the final selection decision. b. interview final candidates. c. requisition employees with specific qualifications. d. obtain background and reference information.

In which of the following scheduling arrangements do employees work a set number of hours per day at the workplace but vary starting and ending times? a. telecommuting b. compressed workday c. work sharing d. flextime

In which of the following situations would peer ratings be most appropriate? a. A group of salespeople meets monthly as a committee to talk about strategies for improving customer relations. b. The manager is too busy to meet with each subordinate for a formal appraisal interview. c. The members of the work group are highly cohesive and have strong friendships with one another. d. The supervisor manages a large geographical region and travels extensively, while the employees work with each other daily.

Ingrid is a recent immigrant from Denmark with a valid U.S. work permit. She has applied for work on the wait staff at a Chinese restaurant near her home. Ingrid doesn't have a car, and this restaurant is one of the few employers she can walk to. Ingrid was turned down for an opening at the restaurant, although she has relevant job experience. Later, Ingrid noticed a Chinese man was hired for the job. Ingrid should a. sue because this is sex discrimination. b. sue because this is national origin discrimination and violates the IRCA. c. not sue because this is an English-language-only workplace and Ingrid's English language skills are minimal. d. not sue because Chinese origin is a bona fide occupational qualification in this case.

Jennifer, a member of the HR department, is working on the organization's job descriptions. She must classify duties as essential or marginal for ADA purposes, and she must also classify duties as primary or non-primary for FLSA purposes. Which of the following decision rules can Jennifer use in her task? a. If a duty is an essential job function for ADA purposes, it will also be a primary duty for FLSA purposes. b. There is no relationship between the requirements for essential functions and those for primary duties. c. If a duty is marginal for ADA purposes, it may still be considered primary for FLSA purposes. d. If a duty is primary for FLSA purposes, it will also be an essential job function for ADA purposes.

Job tasks classified as "miscellaneous" a. cannot be legally used as a basis for terminating an employee. b. can be considered primary job duties if they take up at least 20% of an employee's time. c. make the employee vulnerable to loss of earned overtime. d. cannot be considered essential functions under the ADA.

Joshua is an extremely successful salesperson for a chemical products manufacturing company. His sales are approximately twice those of the average salesperson in his category, and he is a very valuable employee. But, Joshua's administrative abilities are minimal. This is causing problems with orders, customer follow-up, and reporting. Joshua's boss is frustrated because significant training expenditures on Joshua have resulted in minimal improvement in his administrative performance. The situation cannot continue. Which of the following would be the most useful solution for the company? a. This is likely a person-job fit issue. Joshua should be moved from employee status to contingent worker status, thus placing legal liability for non-performance of contract directly on him. b. This is likely a person-job fit issue, and Joshua must be moved to a different job or terminated. c. This is a motivation issue, and Joshua's compensation should be changed so that he is penalized for inadequate administrative work. d. This is probably a person-job fit issue, and Joshua's job should be re-designed to take advantage of his skills and eliminate administrative tasks.

Kathleen is the Director of HR for a resort hotel that is opening on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in an area that already contains a number of hotels and casinos. In addition, Hurricane Katrina reconstruction has lured many potential employees to high-paying construction jobs. Consequently, the labor market for hotel employees of all kinds is very tight. The owner of the resort hotel has exhausted almost all of her capital and credit in building the hotel, and has told Kathleen that labor costs will be a major factor in the company's success or failure. Kathleen is not worried about filling the lower-skilled hotel jobs such as maids, housekeeping staff and restaurant workers because she plans to a. offer higher wages than the competitors and so "steal" trained employees from the other hotels and casinos. b. staff the hotel with only half the usual complement of employees, and rely on heavy use of over-time pay. c. hire college students on summer vacation. d. hire a staffing firm that provides rotating crews of Haitian workers on temporary work visas.

Lydia is three months pregnant with twins. She is applying for a pharmaceutical sales representative position that requires one week of overnight travel per month. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. If Lydia is hired for the job, but is demoted to a non-travel position after her twins are born, this may be an example of family responsibility discrimination. b. If Lydia takes her full FMLA leave during the first year after her twins are born, and she is subsequently passed over for promotion which is given to a male employee whose wife has had twins, she may have a case for retaliation for taking FMLA leave. c. If Lydia is qualified for the job but she is not hired because she is pregnant, this may be a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. d. Lydia is required by the ADA to disclose her need for future accommodation.

Whether employees and managers of an organization behave ethically is fundamentally a function of a. professional codes of ethics. b. the relevant laws and legal guidelines applying to the organization and its industry. c. the employee's level of education. d. the organization's culture.

Mark is unhappy with his new job as a first line supervisor at the call center. He dislikes trying to motivate his subordinates to increase their productivity. He is dreading having to give the upcoming performance appraisals to his subordinates. Mark finds the job boring and watches the clock all afternoon, longing for the end of his shift. He is planning to apply for another job either within the organization or outside the organization. Mark is experiencing a. poor person-organization fit. b. burnout. c. the result of negligent hiring. d. poor person-job fit

Mary Ann is the recruiter for a large lighting products company, Aurora Borealis Lighting, Inc. Not only does Aurora Borealis Lighting have retail stores, it also 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 be two years before the new hire will be fully productive. Consequently, they are looking to hire a person who will be with the company for at least four or five years. Mary Ann suggests that they only hire applicants who have been with their previous employer 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

Medical information on employees must be a. maintained off-site. b. filed with the employee's general personnel files.. c. more extensive for employees covered by the ADA. d. limited access.

Megan has been working with her supervisor on the Filbert's Fast Foods account for six months. Yesterday, Megan's boss told her that she is capable of handling the Filbert's Fast Foods account on her own from now on, but she can come to him for advice at any time. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Megan will be able to use a greater variety of skills at her work now. b. Megan's job has more significance. c. Megan's job will provide her more feedback than before. d. Megan's job now allows her more autonomy.

Of the following types of selection interview, which is the LEAST valid? a. behavioral b. situational c. competency d. non-directive

Other than information technology occupations, between now and 2016 the highest percentage job growth will be in a. manufacturing. b. the public sector. c. human resources. d. health care.

Piaffe Products has 15 employees quit during 2010 and an additional 10 are fired for poor performance. At midyear there are 50 employees. Piaffe's turnover rate is a. 10% b. 20% c. 30% d. 50%

Roger has just been hired as the first HR manager for Charlemagne Tools, Inc. Roger is examining the application form that Charlemagne has been using. He decides to delete the following question because it is illegal. a. Have you ever been convicted of a felony? b. Can you perform the duties of the job with accommodation? c. What is your driver's license number? d. Who should we contact in case of emergency?

Sound HR practices would not automatically exclude the following non-traditional categories of potential applicants EXCEPT a. a 35-year-old white male who is currently living in a half-way house for former drug addicts. b. a 70-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease. c. a 19-year-old man with an IQ of 78. d. a college-educated Danish woman without an H1 visa.

Statements that describe both desirable and undesirable employee behaviors on a numerical scale are called a. critical incidents. b. categorical descriptions c. MBO targets d. anchors.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has had all of the following effects on HR EXCEPT a. companies have to establish ethics codes. b. HR has had to carry out compliance verification effort involved with the act. c. HR has to develop anti-retaliation policies for employee whistle-blowers. d. HR exempt-level professionals must have professional certification.

The U.S. Department of Labor uses "separation" to mean a. functional turnover b. dysfunctional turnover. c. layoffs for economic reasons. d. employee departures for any reason.

Which of the following best describes the manager's role in the developmental aspect of performance appraisal? a. judge b. parent c. antagonist d. coach

The Wickham County Hospital is the only full-service hospital providing care in Wickham County. The population of Wickham Country has been increasing by 10 percent a year the last two years, and projections are that the population will grow even more rapidly in the next ten years. To serve the increased need, next year the hospital will open a new wing doubling the number of beds in the hospital. The HR planning for next year must include all of the following EXCEPT a. analysis of the current employees' knowledge, skills and abilities. b. predicting the qualifications employees will need for the additional jobs. c. predicting the number of new employees needed in each job to staff the new wing. d. how best to balance "churn," which brings in new talent to the hospital, versus retention of experienced employees.

The Wickham County Hospital is the only full-service hospital providing care in Wickham County. The population of Wickham Country has been increasing by 10 percent a year the last two years, and projections are that the population will grow even more rapidly in the next ten years. To serve the increased need, next year the hospital will open a new wing doubling the number of beds in the hospital. The HR planning for next year must include all of the following EXCEPT a. analysis of the current employees' knowledge, skills and abilities. b. predicting the qualifications employees will need for the additional jobs. c. predicting the number of new employees needed in each job to staff the new wing. d. what actions to take in the event of a talent surplus in the next 12 months.

The ____ role of HR management has been increasingly outsourced, while the _________ role of HR management is sometimes being give to senior executives without HR experience. a. strategic, operational b. advocate, operational c. operational, administrative d. administrative, strategic

The best criterion of the effectiveness of an advertisement for applicants is a. cost of the ad per applicant. b. total number of applicants generated by the ad. c. number of applicants generated by the ad who were hired. d. performance level of applicants generated by the ad who were hired.

The cessation of NASA's space shuttle program and the five year delay before the Constellation program launches, means that NASA a. legally has the needed opportunity to lay off all its current employees and hire new employees with fresh technological and scientific skills. b. has the opportunity to reinvigorate the morale of shuttle technicians and scientists who have been discouraged and unmotivated as a result of being saddled with outmoded technology. c. will be able to seamlessly apply the current knowledge, skills and abilities of its current workforce to the Constellation program. d. faces a knowledge gap if experience shuttle-related employees retire before the Constellation program starts up.

The collective value of the competencies, knowledge and skill of the employees in the organization is known as the organization's a. investment in people. b. talent pool. c. intellectual assets. d. human capital.

The country that has the highest hourly compensation for manufacturing production workers is a. the U.S. b. Japan. c. Australia. d. Germany.

The forecast for openings for store managers in a retail chain must include all of the following EXCEPT a. the number of store managers who are expected to quit in the coming year. b. if any store locations will be closed in the coming year. c. the number of store managers who will be promoted to regional manager in the coming year. d. the number of store managers who will volunteer for additional management development programs.

The increasing number of telecommuting employees has led to a. a reduction in the number of hours worked on average in the U.S. b. a decrease in the amount of bias against protected classes because face-to-face interaction with supervisors is limited. c. significant changes in federal and state employment laws. d. an increase in electronic monitoring of employee activities by employers.

The largest professional organization for HR generalists is a. the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA). b. the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). c. the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). d. the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

The main legal reason for performing a thorough background check of all applicants is a. compliance with the Immigration and Naturalization Act. b. the avoidance of resumé fraud. c. non-discrimination against protected classes. d. protection against charges of negligent hiring.

The main reason that HR metrics are difficult to compare across organizations is due to a. fear by HR executives that their department will not compare well with other organizations. b. the unique nature of each organization's HR function. c. the fact that most of this information is proprietary. d. lack of consistency in HR reporting.

The manager of a automotive repair shop keeps a logbook in which she records both especially good and especially poor actions of the mechanics. The manager is using the a. essay. b. forced distribution method. c. BARS method. d. critical incident method.

The president of a consulting firm has deliberately kept the number of full and part-time employees of his firm to twelve. This means he does NOT have to comply with a. the ADEA b. the ADEA or the ADA. c. the ADEA, the ADA, or Title VII. d. the ADEA, the ADA, Title VII, or the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Which of the following companies or institutions would be allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion? a. municipal police departments. b. Sadie's Kosher Frozen Cuisine. c. airlines with international routes. d. St. Mary's Catholic Academy for Girls.

The psychological contract a. is legally enforceable in federal courts. b. is a concept mainly relevant to hourly and lower-level employees rather than managerial and professional employees. c. is stable and unlikely to change during the employee's relationship with the organization. d. can create either a positive or a negative relationship between an employee and his/her employer.

The return on investment calculation shows the value of expenditures for HR activities. It also shows a. whether the HR department is effective in meeting organizational goals. b. how long it will take a particular HR activity to pay for itself. c. the value added per each HR staff member. d. human capital value added

The selection process for hiring the assistant to the mayor of a large city includes giving the finalists three hypothetical crisis scenarios. One deals with a terrorist threat at a sporting event, another deals with a plane crash at the airport, and the third deals with a major earthquake. Each candidate must describe his/her approach to the crisis, which will be recorded and evaluated by a panel. This is an example of a a. competency interview. b. behavioral interview. c. stress interview. d. situational interview.

The shared values and beliefs of an organization is its a. social network. b. ethical environment. c. intellectual capital. d. organizational culture.

Tina, the director of HR, is disturbed at the high level of turnover at her company. From exit interviews, she suspects that certain supervisors have higher dysfunctional turnover rates among their subordinates than others. In order to verify this hunch, Tina should analyze turnover by department and by a. employee response to attitude surveys. b. employee length of service. c. employee race and gender. d. employee performance ratings.

Tyrone Toys is intensely focused on reducing labor costs. During a meeting of the executive committee, a member suggests closing its unionized plant in Ohio and opening a non-union plant in Mississippi. The executive vice president (EVP) of HR, who is a member of this committee, suggests that the committee get legal advice in case Tyrone Toys would be subject to lawsuits by the union. This interaction suggests that a. HR is not a strategic partner in this firm because a plant closing is not a strategic decision. b. HR is not a strategic partner in the firm because any suggestion about closing a plant should properly come from HR, not another executive. c. HR is a strategic partner in the firm because in this firm the EVP of HR is allowed to sit in on important strategic meetings. d. HR is a strategic partner in the firm because the EVP of HR is a permanent member of the executive committee.

Under the 1991 Civil Rights Act, employers must show that an individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin a. was not the deciding factor in the employment decision. b. did not limit that individual's employment options. c. caused no financial hardship to the individual. d. played no role in their employment practices.

Useful metrics have all the following characteristics EXCEPT a. measures are linked to strategic and operational objectives. b. results can be compared both internally and externally. c. calculations can be clearly understood. d. the measures include subjective judgments by experts.

Valhalla Resort Residences is a retirement living center located in the Southwest. Most of its residents speak only one language, English. Many of the medical staff and resident assistants are recruited from the Philippines and the Caribbean. Valhalla management believes that the residents must be able to communicate their needs to the staff. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. Valhalla can require because of business necessity that its employees speak only English any time that they are on the Valhalla grounds or buildings. b. It would be better for Valhalla management to pay bilingual employees a wage premium than to insist that all employees speak English. c. An English language test would be discriminatory on the basis of national origin. Instead, non-English-speaking employees should be given a year to learn English. d. It would be legal for Valhalla to give every applicant a spoken-English skills test when they apply for a job at Valhalla.

Vincent, the vice president of HR, is studying the profile of the organization's workforce. Vincent's employer is a utility company and essentially provides life-time employment for workers, and the turnover rate is very low. Vincent's eye is caught by a troubling aspect of the profile, and he says to himself, "This must be the result of the 7-year hiring freeze we had back in the 1980s," and the low-level of hiring through the 1990s. Vincent has probably noticed a. statistical outliers that should not affect Vincent's HR planning decision. b. an organizational profile heavily weighted toward employees with low seniority levels. c. a lack of young female and minority employees. d. a potential shortage of experienced employees as older workers retire.

What information should be provided in the job specification to ensure compliance with ADA regulations? a. identification of compensable and non-compensable factors. b. disclaimer that the job description is not a legal contract c. performance standards for all levels of physical ability d. information necessary to determine what accommodations might or might not be possible

What is a major advantage of the questionnaire method of gathering data on jobs? a. The questionnaire method can be used with all levels and types of employees. b. Questionnaire data is more reliable and valid than data gathered in other ways. c. The same questionnaire can be used for both hourly and managerial jobs. d. Information on a large number of jobs can be collected in a relatively short period of time.

When considering recent college graduates, a moderately-high GPA is used by recruiters a. as a reliable indicator of future job performance. b. as a predictor of leadership abilities. c. is typically dismissed as important because of grade inflation. d. as an initial screening tool.

When does the burden of proof fall on the employer in a disparate impact or disparate treatment suit? a. when there is an Affirmative Action Plan in place b. when it is a class action suit of current and former employees c. when the case goes to court before a jury d. when the court rules that disparate impact or disparate treatment has occurred.

When employees feel the employer has broken the psychological contract by laying off long-service employees, the key "loss" that contributes to employee turnover is loss of a. optimism about the economic future of the country. b. commitment to the organization's mission. c. confidence in the protection of employees' legal rights. d. loyalty to the organization.

Which of the following examples would most likely NOT be considered evidence of age discrimination? a. Bob is a retired engineer who works part-time as sales staff at a "big box" home center. The store manager refers to Bob as "Grandpa Bob." b. A modeling agency has sent an 52-year-old man to pose for a photo shoot for a teen-oriented product line. The shoot director was over heard to say on the phone, "What were you thinking? I gave you our target customer profile!" c. When James was sent to classes to update his computer skills, his supervisor commented that she was sure "old dogs could learn new tricks." d. The HR managers at a non-profit organization refer to the informal policy of laying off the most senior and highly-paid employees first as the "age before beauty" policy.

Which of the following government regulations do NOT affect HR planning? a. pension laws. b. tax benefits for job-training expenses. c. regulations on the length of the work week. d. reporting requirements for workers' compensation claims.

Which of the following has been a geographic trend within the last decade that has forced changes in HR plans? a. the movement of better educated workers to the Midwest b. the influx of highly skilled technical workers from Asia and India c. the erosion of offshoring advantages because of increases in wages in Asia and India. d. the continued importance of industry hubs with infrastructure and supply bases.

Which of the following individuals would be LEAST likely to be protected by the EEOC from discrimination on the basis of family responsibilities? a. a 32-year-old fundraiser for a university whose husband has Lou Gehrig's disease for whom she hires 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. caregivers during the work week. b. a 70-year-old checkout clerk at a retail chain store whose wife living at home has Alzheimer's disease. c. a 17-year-old cook at a fast food restaurant who is a single mother of a school age child. d. a 40-year-old single woman whose elderly mother is in a nursing home in the same city and whose father is in a nursing home in another state.

Which of the following is NOT a major reason why businesses use contingent workers? a. to reduce legal liability for employers for discrimination lawsuits b. to provide stable employment for workers with critical skills c. to reduce compensation and benefit costs d. to accommodate employee desire for flexible work schedules.

Which of the following is NOT an argument typically made FOR Affirmative Action? a. Affirmative action is needed to overcome past injustices. b. Affirmative action goals are not quotas. They are indications that progress is needed. c. In the long run, affirmative action will result in more equality for everyone. d. Affirmative action has allowed protected classes to advance without being penalized for inferior educations and skill levels.

Which of the following is TRUE about the U.S. educational system? a. U.S. schools are graduating more engineers than can be used in the economy. b. U.S. students outperform students in other, directly-competitive nations in math and science. c. Wages are low in the U.S. manufacturing sector because of the excess number of people with manufacturing skills seeking jobs. d. The U.S. education system is not generating the types of qualified workers needed in the economy..

Which of the following is a fundamental purpose of the application form? It provides a. the initial document for the organization's EEO/affirmative action plans. b. a defense in an ADA discrimination case. c. a record of the employer's desire to hire someone for an open position. d. a basic employee record for applicants who are eventually hired.

Which of the following is an ADVANTAGE of external recruiting? a. The selection process is more rigorous than with internal hiring. b. The process motivates high performance from employees because they know they are competing with outside candidates as well as inside candidates for promotion. c. Current employees welcome the opportunity to learn new ideas from outsiders. d. The new hire is not politically networked into the organization.

Which of the following questions to job applicants is LEGAL under the ADA? a. Have you ever been treated for tuberculosis? b. What was the reason for your medical discharge from the Army? c. I see you are wearing a cast on your arm. Why? d. Describe how you would lift a 50-pound dog onto an examination table with or without accommodation.

Which of the following statements about communication technology's impact on HR is FALSE? a. Constant social networking means that today's employees experience less of a division between their work lives and their personal lives. b. Employees today expect more frequent and more rapid communication from their managers. c. The organization's reputation can be damaged by employee communication with outsiders, and this is magnified by social networking. d. Research has shown that the typical employee is not interested in learning more about the organization, so HR communication has little impact on employee attitudes regardless of its format or medium.

Which of the following statements in a job description is MOST appropriate? a. The employee may be required to make overnight trips from time to time. b. Greets all customers promptly and courteously. c. Generates sales of at least $150,000 per month. d. Lifts boxes up to 50 pounds to a height of two feet, 10 to 20 times per day.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. By law, employers must pay prevailing U.S. wages to non-citizens who hold work visas. b. Employers that knowingly hire non-citizens without appropriate work visas are subject to fines. c. It is illegal for employers to replace their current U.S. workers with workers who are non-citizens, even if the non-citizen workers are more qualified than the U.S. workers and willing to take lower pay. d. U.S. unions are usually pro-immigrant, because of the long history of immigrant workers being strong union members.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The EEOC prefers predictive validity over concurrent validity studies of predictors. b. Predictive validity studies take much longer than do concurrent studies of predictors. c. Concurrent validity studies use the employers existing employees to test whether certain predictors are tied to performance levels. d. Both concurrent and predictive validity tests can be accurately run with as few as 15 employees.

Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The organization's existing employees limit the organization's choice of strategy. b. Although HR is a staff function, it can add value by helping the organization improve its performance. c. Most HR professionals are not full strategic partners in their organizations. d. In order to have a clear strategic vision, it is best for management to have sole authority to select the organization's competitive strategy..

Which of the following strategies is NOT a recommendation for helping members of protected classes "break the glass" ceilings and elevators in organizations? a. formal mentoring programs for protected classes b. alternative work arrangements for employees balancing work and family responsibilities c. opportunities for managers in staff and support functions to rotate into operations, marketing and sales d. hiring more majority men into organizational functions that are becoming female-dominated, such as HR and communications, thus giving these functions more prestige

Which of the following would NOT be a reasonable accommodation for a modest-sized company for an employee who uses a wheelchair? a. eliminating a marginal function of the job that requires the employee to change the paper in the printer and do other machine maintenance tasks requiring reaching and stooping b. removing a partition in the restroom so that the employee can maneuver her wheelchair as needed c. raising the employee's desk higher so that her wheelchair can more easily fit under it d. relocating the business from a second floor that is not accessible by wheelchair to the ground floor

Which of the following would NOT be identified as a typical HR operational activity? a. government compliance b. safety programs c. compensation d. partnering with top executives

Which of the following would be the LEAST important topic of training for a recruiter who will be conducting interviews on a university campus? a. EEO regulations b. details of the jobs and job specifications c. the company's desired image and "brand" d. the company's job posting software

Work-life balance issues a. are not typically a concern of mature and baby boomer employees. b. affect mainly hourly employees who do not have the flexibility in their work schedules that salaried employees have. c. are becoming less of a concern because men are taking over more traditionally-female caregiver roles in families. d. negatively affect the average pay levels that women employees have achieved.

You are the director of HR for a medium-sized regional utility company. Your CEO attended a speech by Jack Welch, and now she wants to implement his "differentiation" performance appraisal system in the company. This system is similar to ranking and forced distribution. You have some concerns about the appropriateness this system because a. this system works best in unionized workplaces and your company is nonunion. b. this system can be applied to managerial jobs, but not to non-managerial jobs. c. the performance measures in this system tend to be both contaminated and deficient. d. forced distribution systems have been subjects of discrimination lawsuits.

You have been hired to be the retention officer for a large software design firm. The firm wishes to reduce the number of acceptably performing designers who leave their jobs. Your main focus should be on ____ turnover among the designers. a. uncontrollable b. involuntary c. functional d. voluntary

___ specifies the performance goals that an individual and his or her manager agree to try to attain within an appropriate length of time. a. Performance counseling b. Strategic performance management c. The critical incident technique (CIT) d. Management by objectives (MBO)

____ are the external supply pool from which organizations attract prospective employees. a. The ranks of the unemployed b. Applicant populations c. Applicant pools d. Labor markets

____ identifies paths and activities for individual employees as they develop within the organization. a. Staffing b. HR development c. Equal Employment Opportunity d. Career planning

____ is the modification or adjustment to a job or work environment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunity. a. Access improvement b. Workplace restructuring c. Job modification d. Reasonable accommodation

____ measure dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and arm-hand steadiness. a. Physical fitness tests b. Work sample tests c. Aptitude tests d. Psychomotor tests

he best candidate for the position of director of marketing has had a positive test for the presence of illegal drugs in a hair sample. As HR manager, you should a. notify the candidate that he was denied the job because of a positive drug test. b. inform the candidate that someone else has been hired.. c. hire the candidate and inform him of the bank's Employee Assistance program. d. ask the candidate to submit to a second type of drug test at another laboratory.

Mgmt 383 ch 11, Mgmt 383 Ch10, Mgmt 383 CH1, Mgmt 383 ch2, MGMT 383 CH3, Mgmt 383 Ch 4, Mgmt 383 Ch 5, Mgmt 383 Ch 6, Mgmt 383 Ch 7

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