MGMT 44430 - EXAM 1

A decrease in the __________ generally reflects an overstaffing of indirect labor relative to direct labor. A. hiring yield B. transition analysis C. staffing trend D. productivity ratio

productivity ratio

If a company employs two office assistants for every nine architects (a staffing ratio of 2:9) and it plans to expand and hire eighteen new architects, how many new office assistants will it need to hire? A. 8 B. 4 C. 6 D. 2

4

In which of the following cases would a company opt for a short-term staffing strategy? A. Higher-level managers need a substantial amount of knowledge about how the company works. B. Employee turnover is high. C. competitive advantage D. Employee skill sets need to be developed through intensive training.

Employee turnover is high.

Which of the following is true of transition analysis? A. It assumes that all employees in a job have an equal probability of movement. B. It does not rely on historical patterns and activity levels. C. It can account for multiple moves. D. It is a qualitative technique.

It assumes that all employees in a job have an equal probability of movement.

Which of the following is true about external hiring? A. Jobs can be filled faster than through internal hiring. B. It sends employees the message that good performance can be rewarded with a promotion. C. External hires reinforce the organization's culture more than do internal hires. D. It can enhance organizational diversity.

It can enhance organizational diversity.

__________ is/are most responsible for an organization's ability to gain and keep a competitive advantage. A. Its employees B. How it manages its money C. How top leaders are compensated D. Its training and development program

Its employees

Which of the following is NOT a leading indicator of ethical staffing issues? A. No code of ethics B. A low hiring yield C. Rewarding results D. Conflicting goals

A low hiring yield

Which of the following is not typically used as background information about a job when conducting a job analysis? A. Training information for the job B. Competitors' job descriptions for similar jobs C. Performance reviews for the job D. Entry examinations for the job

Competitors' job descriptions for similar jobs

Which of the following arguments about job analysis is most effective in order to gain the support of top managers? A. By adequately planning and preparing for the job analysis, the results are likely to be more accurate and useful, and the job analysis should take less time and effort. B. Multiple approaches to job analysis can be combined to address the limitations of any single approach. C. It is not uncommon for the job experts doing the analysis to try to color the job analyst's interpretation of the job to suit their personal goals and needs. D. The process will help identify employee characteristics that will augment the firm's business strategy and increase the company's return on its staffing investment.

The process will help identify employee characteristics that will augment the firm's business strategy and increase the company's return on its staffing investment.

________ forecasting uses historical data on the average number of hires typically made per recruiter or the average number of recruits processed per recruiter over a given period of time, say, a week, month, or year. A. Hiring-yield driven B. Workload-driven C. Staffing efficiency-drive D. Staffing-yield driven

Workload-driven

If a company's employees have talents that would be useful to the organization and the company is not taking advantage of these talents, it is not being efficient in the activity of ________ talent. A. recruiting B. acquiring C. deploying D. sourcing

deploying

Work done by _______ is considered value-adding. A. leased workers B. direct labor C. indirect labor D. contract workers

direct labor

The degree to which the composition of a reward package matches the needs and preferences of applicants or employees is the package's ________. A. differential B. amount C. mix D. stability

mix

A call center has adopted an expansionist strategy. It has taken on a number of big contracts from clients and is on a tight schedule to supply customer support services by the deadlines promised. Which of the following statements, if true, will result in the staffing goals being best aligned to the organizational strategy? A. As many applicants should be hired as possible to get the needed number of employees quickly. B. Only the best talent be selected even if it takes a lot of time to hire. C. The compensation offered should be higher than the average market rate to attract the maximum number of applicants. D. The time taken to fill a position should be tracked for each recruiting source and the fastest possible source of at least minimally qualified talent should be utilized.

The time taken to fill a position should be tracked for each recruiting source and the fastest possible source of at least minimally qualified talent should be utilized.

Identify the primary limitation of all forecasting techniques. A. They tend to give biased estimates. B. They rely on managerial intuition and judgment. C. They are qualitative in nature. D. They rely on historical patterns and activity levels.

They rely on historical patterns and activity levels.

Taking the time to explain the hiring process and making every effort to follow up with candidates and minimize delays is an example of ________. A. hiring for long-term careers B. a commitment to diversity C. a commitment to ethical behavior D. viewing applicants as assets

a commitment to ethical behavior

When we recognize a situation as presenting an ethical issue we have employed _______. A. a schema B. our intuition C. a contract D. metacognition

a schema

Putting together an attractive job offer and negotiating with the candidate the company wants to hire is part of ________. A. recruiting B. attracting C. onboarding D. acquiring

acquiring

Succession management ensures that ________. A. high-potential new hires do not leave because they are overqualified and under challenged B. a company attracts sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified applicants C. an organization has people ready to assume leadership positions when they become available D. new employees will be motivated by the firm's compensation package

an organization has people ready to assume leadership positions when they become available

A job analysis that produces a valid selection system identifies characteristics in candidates that ________. A. can ensure efficiency and low cost at the same time B. can be easily replaced C. are easily manipulated D. are not easily learned on the job

are not easily learned on the job

Why is it usually best to supplement the ratio, scatter plot, and trend forecasting methods with managerial judgment? A. because top-down approaches need analytical validation B. because judgment forecasting is the most accurate method C. because historical trends and relationships can change D. because firms need to keep their fingers on the pulse of their labor markets

because historical trends and relationships can change

When an employer outsources its customer service function to another company it has engaged in _______. A. contingent hiring B. offshoring C. staffing planning D. business process outsourcing

business process outsourcing

An organization's staffing strategy should be derived from and clearly support its ________. A. business strategy B. compensation strategy C. core workforce D. promotion needs

business strategy

The job analysis technique that identifies behaviors that lead to extremely effective or extremely ineffective job performance is ________. A. task inventory method B. critical incidents method C. structured interview method D. job elements method

critical incidents method

Hiring people who are active learners with good emotional resilience under pressure would support a ________ competitive advantage. A. product leadership B. operational excellence C. training and development D. customer intimacy

customer intimacy

Which of the following is more likely to warrant changes in an organization's compensation policy and induce it to offer above-market wages? A. decrease in the number of employees quitting jobs B. reduction in the number of companies in its industry C. restructuring of jobs to make them more process oriented D. decreasing unemployment rates

decreasing unemployment rates

When a manager specifies what a new job will require and how it should be done she is engaging in job ________. A. enrichment B. redesign C. enlargement D. design

design

If speaking German is something that it is nice for employees to be able to do but is not necessary for good job performance, then speaking German is a(n) ________. A. essential criteria B. competency C. desirable criteria D. job description

desirable criteria

A job analysis ________. A. ensures that equal numbers of all protected groups are in a firm's workforce B. is generated by an affirmative action plan C. establishes hiring quotas for different protected groups D. determines a job's entry requirements

determines a job's entry requirements

Staffing can be considered a cornerstone of human resource management because it ________. A. is the only function performed by human resources B. determines the workforce available to the company C. takes the largest part of the human resource budget D. takes the most time of any human resource management function

determines the workforce available to the company

The balance between the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards an employee receives by working for a particular employer in return for their job performance is the ________. A. employee value proposition B. work-life balance C. job's total rewards D. job's total compensation package

employee value proposition

According to the resource-based view of the firm, in order to create value, staffing practices must ________. A. enhance the differentiation of the firm's products B. imitate the practices followed by competitors C. maximize the number of applicants who are hired D. rapidly create new products or services

enhance the differentiation of the firm's products

If the job of a loader exists to load packages on delivery trucks, the ability to safely lift and load packages onto a truck is a(n) ________. A. essential function B. desirable criteria C. job description D. job grade

essential function

The first step in conducting a job analysis is to ________. A. communicate the purpose of the job analysis to the job experts B. write the job description and person specification C. collect critical incidents D. get the support of top management

get the support of top management

When viewing applicants and employees as investors, the goal is to ________. A. be as selective as possible in choosing whom to hire B. terminate the bottom performing 10% of employees every year C. ensure that the revenue generated by a new hire exceeds the new hire's total compensation level D. give applicants and employees a return on their personal contributions in the organization

give applicants and employees a return on their personal contributions in the organization

If a company wants to promote from within rather than hire higher level managers from outside the company it should focus on _________. A. hiring as quickly as possible B. offering a comprehensive benefit package and letting employees choose their benefits C. hiring people who can perform the current job who also have leadership potential D. paying competitive wages

hiring people who can perform the current job who also have leadership potential

Which of the following is the first step in the typical workforce planning process? A. identifying the firm's business strategy B. conducting a workforce analysis C. developing and implementing action plans D. articulating the firm's strategic staffing decisions

identifying the firm's business strategy

A formal group or cluster of tasks is a ________. A. job family B. job analysis C. person specification D. job

job

A summary of the information collected during a job analysis is a ______. A. person specification B. job description C. job rewards analysis D. job requirements matrix

job rewards analysis

Which of the following forecasting methods relies on the experience and insights of people in the organization to predict a firm's future employment needs? A. trend analysis B. judgmental forecasting C. transition analysis D. ROI analysis

judgmental forecasting

Organizations relying on a cost-leadership strategy would have what type of talent philosophy? A. viewing employees as assets B. viewing employees as investors C. hiring as many people as possible D. keeping salaries as low as possible to control costs

keeping salaries as low as possible to control costs

The time it takes to fill a position is an example of a ______. A. metric B. correlation C. judgment D. statistic

metric

When a manager deciding how to most fairly identify internal candidates for a promotion she is making a __________. A. moral judgment B. moral intent C. schema D. ethical climate

moral judgment

To maximize an employer's investment in staffing it should focus on the jobs that are critical to _____________. A. obtaining its competitive advantage B. improving diversity in the company C. lowering the company's turnover rate D. reducing payroll costs

obtaining its competitive advantage

Hiring people who are trainable and willing to follow standardized procedures would support a ________ competitive advantage. A. product leadership B. training and development C. operational excellence D. customer intimacy

operational excellence

Which of the following does an employer have to do if it wants to hire successfully from the traditional labor pool? A. increase training B. automate the job C. reduce required qualifications D. provide competitive pay

provide competitive pay

The primary goal of ________ is to get the right people interested in working for an organization or in a specific job, then persuade them to apply and ultimately accept a job offer if one is extended. A. selecting B. recruiting C. sourcing D. employer branding

recruiting

Assigning a high-performing sales associate to work with the company's most important client is an example of ________. A. succession planning B. selection C. matchmaking D. redeployment

redeployment

Which of the following visually shows each of the possible successors for a job and summarizes their strengths, present performance, promotion readiness, and development needs? A. perceptual maps B. replacement charts C. scatter diagrams D. talent inventories

replacement charts

Interviewing job candidates to assess their fit with the job and organization is part of ________. A. employee profiling B. selecting C. attracting D. deploying

selecting

When a supervisor introduces a new hire to her new colleagues and other important people in the organization he is engaging in ________. A. socialization B. career planning C. deployment D. recruiting

socialization

Which of the following are advantages of using structured questionnaires for job analysis? A. standardization and the ability to capture unique aspects of the job B. speed and low reading level C. standardization and low reading level D. speed and low cost

speed and low cost

Which term refers to the proportion of applicants moving from one stage of the hiring process to the next? A. attrition B. staffing yields C. hiring yields D. retention

staffing yields

A firm pursuing an operational excellence competitive advantage would focus on acquiring top _______ talent. A. sales B. supply chain C. advertising D. research and development

supply chain

Hiring yield refers to: A. the return on investment from one additional hire. B. the proportion of applicants moving from one stage of the hiring process to the next. C. the proportion of hires coming through a particular recruiter. D. the percent of applicants ultimately hired.

the percent of applicants ultimately hired.

Which of the following is contained in a task statement? A. how to recruit for the given job specifications B. the physical working conditions of the job C. the type of people required for the job D. identifying the changes anticipated for the position

the physical working conditions of the job

A staffing strategy of hiring people likely to be promoted over time would be compromised without a quality ___________. A. compensation system B. performance management system C. union representing the workforce D. training and development system

training and development system

An organization's competitive advantage is ________. A. not something that can be influenced by staffing B. the number of employees it hires in a year C. what it can do differently from its competitors D. the annual employee turnover rate

what it can do differently from its competitors

Strategically evaluating the company's current lines of business, new businesses it will be getting into, businesses it will be leaving, and the gaps between the current skills in the organization and the skills it will need to execute its business strategy is ________. A. workforce planning B. sourcing C. recruiting D. succession planning

workforce planning

When a firm determines that it will need to hire 50 customer service representatives within the next three months, it has engaged in ________. A. workforce planning B. placement C. attracting D. competency modeling

workforce planning