Deck 12: Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees

Question 1

Which of the following statements about telecommuting is most accurate?

A)Telecommuting offers big advantages for many workers,but is likely to increase costs for employers significantly.
B)Home-based work allows workers to choose their own hours and interrupt work for child care and other tasks,but this freedom and flexibility can create problems for some workers.
C)Although home-based work may become very popular in the future,only a small percentage of workers currently work at home on a regular basis.
D)Home-based work tends to increase the productivity of almost all workers,since people tend to be more productive when they are comfortable and can work flexible hours.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A benefit plan that allows employees to choose the package of benefits they want up to a certain dollar amount is called a plan.

A)variable lifestyle
B)401K
C)flexible spending
D)cafeteria-style

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Equal pay for work of equal value is known as what?

A)Pay equity
B)The Canada Labour Code
C)Anti-discrimination
D)Golden handshakes

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A firm would be most likely to implement a policy of holding exit interviews if it wanted to:

A)make sure workers who agreed to telecommute understood their new responsibilities.
B)implement a golden handshake policy.
C)allow immediate supervisors one more chance to convince retiring workers to stay on the job.
D)find out why so many of its good employees were quitting.

Question 5

What is the second of five steps in the human resource planning process?

A)Assess future human resource demand
B)Prepare a human resources inventory
C)Prepare a job analysis
D)Establish a strategic plan

Question 6

All of the following are external recruitment sources except:

A)public and private employment agencies.
B)recommendations of employees.
C)applicants who show up at the office and apply.
D)college placement bureaus.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about team pay is the most accurate?

A)Although individuals who make an outstanding contribution should be recognized and rewarded,a pay system based strictly on individual performance can undermine the cohesiveness teams need to meet their goals.
B)Most managers have concluded that team pay methods are so complex and difficult to administer that they have gone back to pay plans based on rewarding workers for their individual achievements.
C)Most managers are very satisfied with the team-based pay programs that are currently in place.
D)Team pay plans should emphasize individual rewards since the team can succeed only if all individuals are highly motivated to work as hard as possible.

Question 8

Which of the following statements about early retirement is most accurate?

A)Workers who receive an offer for early retirement are likely to gain by refusing the firm's first offer and holding out for a better deal.
B)Traditional early retirement plans are no longer legal because they represent age discrimination.
C)An advantage of early retirement as a method of downsizing is that early retirement offers increase the morale of remaining workers.
D)Federal law requires firms to offer early retirement benefits to any worker who voluntarily offers to retire before the age of 60.

Question 9

One of the reasons many firms have chosen to use temporary employees rather than rehire full-time employees is that:

A)the government provides strong tax incentives to hire temporary workers.
B)it enables them to avoid the prohibitively high costs associated with terminating employees.
C)such workers usually are more loyal to the firm.
D)most labour laws only apply to full-time workers,so there are fewer legal hassles associated with hiring temporary workers.

Question 10

In a arrangement two part-time employees fill one full time job.

A)split shift
B)job sharing
C)job enlargement
D)multitasking

Question 11

Unlike a traditional performance appraisal,a 360 degree review:

A)uses only objective measures of performance.
B)compares the performance of each worker to every other worker.
C)is performed by experts from outside the organization.
D)provides feedback from all directions within the organization.

Question 12

The Equal Employment Act tries to "right past wrongs" by increasing opportunities for:

A)white men.
B)immigrants.
C)minorities and women.
D)young workers.

Question 13

Jeanie is talking to a group of family and friends at a party.She has just mentioned that she recently received an offer for a substantial golden handshake from her employer.Which of the following statements is she most likely to make next?

A)Of course,I would have really preferred to receive money,but just knowing that top executives will take the time to recognize my accomplishments makes me feel better about my work.
B)That will teach those guys to discriminate against me.
C)It's great to work for a company that encourages employees to further their education.
D)I've already looked into using some of the money to go on a trip to Europe when I retire.

Question 14

Which of the following statements best describes the current view of the role of human resource management within a firm?

A)Human resource management has become so complex that only highly trained human resource specialists should make human resource decisions.
B)Changes in technology have largely done away with the need for a separate human resource department.
C)Human resource management functions have become so important that in many firms all managers now perform them.
D)Human resource management is largely a clerical function that involves keeping records,processing payroll,and making sure that federal regulations are met.

Question 15

A is a check of a potential employee's work record,academic record,credit history and recommendations.

A)background investigation
B)personality profile
C)fidelity appraisal
D)character review

Question 16

Major companies have been able to use to cut costs by reducing the number of offices and desks for employees.

A)telecommuting
B)job sharing
C)flextime plans
D)compressed work schedules

Question 17

is the process of training and educating employees to become good managers and then developing their managerial skills over time.

A)Self-actualization training
B)Pre-mentoring
C)Management development
D)Vestibule training

Question 18

A major characteristic of a compressed work week is that:

A)employees work fewer days each week,but work more hours each workday.
B)two or more part-time workers are hired to fill each full-time position.
C)the pace of work is increased so that workers perform the same amount of work in fewer hours.
D)workers receive the same pay for fewer hours of work.

Question 19

Steely Percussion Inc.briefly tried to implement a flextime system only to abandon it after a few months.Which of the following is the most likely reason Steely would drop its flextime plan?

A)Workers tend to be less productive when they have to work longer hours in a single day.
B)It caused an increase in traffic congestion.
C)The employees resented being required to come to work early or stay late.
D)It often made communication among employees more difficult.

Question 20

When workers are a part of a team their compensation should be:

A)based strictly on the achievements of their team in order to encourage teamwork and cooperation.
B)based strictly on their individual performance in order to encourage each worker to exert his or her maximum effort.
C)a stated wage or salary that is not based on either team or individual performance,because it is very difficult to measure individual performance in a team environment.
D)based on team performance,with additional rewards for those workers who make outstanding individual contributions.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about human resource management opportunities and challenges is most accurate?

A)Workers are becoming less loyal to their firms,resulting in higher turnover.
B)The age composition of the labour force is becoming younger.
C)The number of workers who have received training in high tech fields far exceeds the number of job openings in these areas.
D)Workers are now demanding that more of their compensation be in wages and salaries and less in fringe benefits.

Question 22

Roy just accepted a job as a supervisor at a small manufacturing plant.His pay starts at $635 per week.Roy is paid on a(n):

A)commission plan.
B)income averaging plan.
C)salary system.
D)rolling rate system.

Question 23

workers do not have the expectation of regular,full time employment.

A)Apprenticed
B)Underemployed
C)Contingent
D)Indentured

Question 24

Sick-leave pay,vacation pay,pension plans,and health plans that provide additional compensation to employees are called:

A)bonus sharing.
B)nonmonetary salaries.
C)off-schedule salary.
D)employee benefits.

Question 25

refers to short-term,skills-oriented attempts to improve workers' job performance.

A)Training
B)Development
C)Job enrichment
D)Contingency planning

Question 26

is the process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers in one's own organization and in other organizations,and using those contacts to establish strong relationships that serve as informal development systems.

A)Social integration
B)Networking
C)Training and development
D)Orienteering

Question 27

Willie was recently hired to an entry level management position at ABC Resorts,a real estate development company.His superiors believe Willie has potential to move into a top management position within the organization.They have begun assigning Willie to a different department every few months so he can obtain the broad perspective needed by top managers.Willie's experiences are an example of:

A)an understudy position.
B)cross-functional management.
C)job rotation.
D)multitasking.

Question 28

At Friendly Financial Consulting,Wayne is allowed to choose what time he starts his workday,and can come to work any time from 7:00 a.m.until 10:00 a.m.He must be on the job from 10:00 a.m.to noon and from 1:00 p.m.until 3:00 p.m.He also must work a total of 8 hours a day,so the earlier he arrives,the earlier he can leave.Wayne works under a system of:

A)job enlargement.
B)compressed work weeks.
C)flextime.
D)job sharing.

Question 29

A disadvantage of flextime plans is that they often:

A)cause worker morale to decline.
B)confuse workers.
C)lead to a higher level of absenteeism.
D)require supervisors and managers to work longer hours.

Question 30

Which of the following statements about human resource management opportunities and challenges is most accurate?

A)Shifts in the economy have led to a huge pool of skilled and unskilled workers from declining industries that are either unemployed or are underemployed.
B)Workers now desire more stability and predictability in their careers,so they now give their employers more loyalty and expect more loyalty from their employers in return.
C)So many people have sought training in high tech areas such as biotechnology and computers that there is likely to be a huge surplus of labour in high tech industries.
D)Workers now would rather have more income rather than more leisure.Therefore,many employees now want to work more than 40 hours per week.

Question 31

A plan gives employees some ability to adjust when they work,as long as they work the required number of hours.

A)cafeteria-style plan
B)Gantt scheduling
C)flextime
D)VeriTime

Question 32

A management training program that gives managers assignments in a variety of departments in order to expose them to different functions within the organization is called:

A)job enlargement.
B)an apprenticeship program.
C)job rotation.
D)vestibule training.

Question 33

Employers have looked for scheduling flexibility for what reason?

A)Piece work
B)Teamwork
C)Management training purposes
D)Workplace trends

Question 34

Which of the following would be used by a manager who wanted to fill a position using an internal source?

A)private employment agencies
B)promotion of a current employee
C)help wanted ads
D)public employment agencies

Question 35

XYZ Electronics has recently switched to a schedule in which employees work ten hour shifts four days a week,and then have a three day weekend.XYZ is using a:

A)flextime system.
B)job rotation system.
C)compressed workweek.
D)constrained workweek.

Question 36

The ultimate resource of a firm is its:

A)business plan.
B)capital budget.
C)employees.
D)marketing mix.

Question 37

Betty is a human resource manager with ABC Industries.Her current assignment is to revise and update ABC's employment testing procedures.Betty should:

A)design tests that are directly related to an applicant's ability to perform the job.
B)design tests that measure general aptitudes rather than ability to do the job.
C)inform her superiors that such tests are now illegal.
D)write tests that are so difficult that only a small fraction of qualified workers can pass them.

Question 38

The most likely reason a firm would pay its sales representatives a commission rather than a salary is that it wants to:

A)be able to deduct the cost of compensating the sales representatives from its taxable income.
B)provide sales representatives with a strong incentive to generate more sales for the company.
C)give the sales representatives a stronger incentive to collaborate with each other and act as a team.
D)keep the pay system as simple as possible.

Question 39

A problem with the Hay system of compensating workers is that:

A)it can lead to resentment because more productive employees may earn less than employees who do not perform as well but have worked for the company longer.
B)it is difficult and expensive to administer because of the extensive paperwork needed to compute wages and salaries each pay period.
C)the EEOC has declared it illegal because it discriminates against older workers.
D)because it is relatively new,most workers and managers are unfamiliar with it.

Question 40

Humphrey Communications uses a flextime plan.In their system,all employees must be on the job from 10:00 a.m.until 2:00 p.m.These hours are referred to as the:

A)mandatory attendance time.
B)compressed time.
C)shared facilities time.
D)core time.

Question 41

_ is a popular form of distance learning.

A)Role playing
B)Job rotation
C)Vestibule training
D)Online training

Question 42

The ABC Corporation wants to reduce its labour force,but is concerned about the impact downsizing will have on its remaining employees.One policy that might allow ABC to reduce its labour force without adversely affecting morale is to:

A)implement a job sharing program.
B)make more extensive use of job rotation.
C)develop an affirmative action plan.
D)offer early retirement benefits.

Question 43

Donnie is an office manager with a financial company.His company recently announced that it will soon implement a flextime plan.Under this new system,Donnie is likely to find that:

A)he will have to work harder to maintain high morale among the employees in his office.
B)he will have to work longer hours.
C)almost all of his workers decide to change to an earlier schedule.
D)workers tend to forget their work schedules.

Question 44

Internet-based training courses are sometimes also called:

A)vestibule training.
B)synchronized training.
C)contingency training.
D)distance learning.

Question 45

A is a study of what is done by employees who hold various job titles.

A)Job description
B)Job specification
C)Pre-selection
D)Job analysis

Question 46

Which of the following statements about recruiting is most accurate?

A)It is important for a firm to recruit and hire people who are not only skilled but who also fit in with the firm's culture and leadership style.
B)Small firms generally have a strong advantage when it comes to recruiting.
C)One advantage to using external sources when recruiting is that this approach tends to result in higher morale among the firm's existing employees.
D)Recruiting internally will almost always result in better qualified applicants than recruiting externally.

Question 47

A(n)is a financial incentive a firm offers to encourage employees to accept an early retirement offer.

A)silver lining
B)golden handshake
C)green fair-way
D)ESOP

Question 48

workers have a higher skill level than their current job requires.

A)Structurally unemployed
B)Frictionally unemployed
C)Underemployed
D)Contingent

Question 49

Promotions and transfers are sources available to human resource managers in their recruiting efforts.

A)redundant
B)passive
C)external
D)internal

Question 50

Which of the following is the most important advantage of using internal sources to hire from within? Hiring from within:

A)allows the firm to effectively use the "employment at will" strategy.
B)eliminates the need to meet affirmative action regulations.
C)helps maintain employee morale.
D)ensures that the best qualified person gets the job.

Question 51

Fringe benefits account for approximately percent of total payroll costs.

A)10
B)24
C)6
D)50

Question 52

A firm that wants to reduce its office costs,broaden its base of available talent and improve job satisfaction could achieve all of these goals by:

A)make greater use of scientific management techniques.
B)recruiting only from internal sources.
C)implement the Hay system of compensation.
D)allow more workers to telecommute.

Question 53

Two advantages of using to fill an opening in a company are that it improves the morale of current employees,and the person filling the position is already familiar with the organization's culture and procedures.

A)promotions
B)discouraged workers
C)apprenticed workers
D)external sources

Question 54

is the set of activities used to legally obtain a sufficient number of the right people at the right time and to select those who best meet the needs of the organization.

A)Networking
B)Recruitment
C)Preemptive hiring
D)Pre-selection

Question 55

One implication of today's flatter corporate structures is that:

A)a greater number of workers are now classified as middle managers.
B)firms are becoming less interested in hiring contingent workers.
C)workers are expecting more of their pay in the form of stock options.
D)employees are more likely to be transferred than promoted.

Question 56

The information contained in performance appraisals helps managers:

A)evaluate job applicants.
B)compute the firm's overall performance in terms of a rate of return on investment.
C)make decisions about promotions,compensation,training,and firing.
D)write job descriptions.

Question 57

The two most common compensation methods for teams are:

A)skills-based pay and gain-sharing.
B)salaries and capital gains.
C)cash bonuses and cashless bonuses.
D)piecework pay and commissions.

Question 58

In coming years,high tech growth areas such as computers,biotechnology,and green technologies are likely to experience a:

A)shortage of skilled labour.
B)stable equilibrium in the labour market.
C)surplus of labour.
D)significant decline in market demand,leading to a stagnant labour market.

Question 59

Al is a human resource manager who recently has spent much of his time trying to obtain a sufficient number of the right types of people at the right time to allow the company to select those who best meet its needs.Al has been involved in:

A)human resource allocating.
B)organizing.
C)job orienteering.
D)recruiting.

Question 60

In a(n)an inexperienced worker learns by working alongside an experienced employee to master the skills and procedures of a craft.

A)apprenticeship program
B)indentureship program
C)orientation period
D)simulation period

Question 61

Howie recently earned his license to sell real estate in Indiana,and has interviewed with several agencies in an attempt to find a job.All have told him that his income will be based on a percentage of his real estate sales for the month.Howie will be:

A)a piecework rate.
B)on a commission basis.
C)through a profit sharing plan.
D)a monthly salary.

Question 62

is the process of evaluating human resource needs,finding the people to fill those needs,and getting the best work out of each employee by providing the best incentives and job environment,all with the goal of meeting the organization's objectives.

A)Human resource management
B)Performance evaluation and response
C)Staffing
D)Job analysis

Question 63

Employers must act in accordance with the legal rights of their employees,or risk what?

A)Employment equity
B)Employee transfers
C)Management dissatisfaction
D)Court cases

Question 64

Which of the following workers would be the best example of a contingent worker?

A)An electrical engineer who frequently travels out of the country to the various manufacturing facilities owned and operated by his firm.
B)An assembly line worker who belongs to a union and has 17 years of seniority.
C)An elementary school teacher who just received tenure.
D)A worker hired to help work at a manufacturing plant for a few weeks during the firm's peak production season.

Question 65

Today,human resource management has become so important that in many firms it has become:

A)a function handled only by the firm's top management.
B)the sole responsibility of the firm's legal staff.
C)a function handled only by specialists in a human resource department.
D)a function of managers in all areas of an organization.

Question 66

is the easiest type of training to implement.

A)Vestibule training
B)An employee boot camp
C)On-the-job training
D)Job simulation

Question 67

Offering can be a useful way for a firm to downsize without causing a serious decline in the morale of the remaining employees.

A)early retirement
B)job sharing
C)flextime
D)affirmative action

Question 68

At ABC and Associates,Gina works daily as an administrative assistant from 9:00 a.m.until 1:00 p.m. ,when she is replaced by Cassie,who works from 1:00 until 5:00 p.m.The arrangement Gina and Cassie have with ABC and Associates is known as job:

A)enlargement.
B)rotation.
C)sharing.
D)allocation.

Question 69

Which of the following statements about performance appraisal is the most accurate?

A)Performance standards do not have to be measurable in order to be effective.
B)Most employees have a good understanding of the standards they are expected to meet,even if their managers do not explicitly communicate these standards.
C)The most difficult step of a performance appraisal almost always is the actual evaluation of the employee's performance.
D)The discussion of the results of a performance evaluation with an employee should allow the employee an opportunity to make suggestions about how to improve on current procedures.

Question 70

Evan is angry and upset because he was passed over for a promotion even though he believes he was the most qualified candidate.He heard through the company grapevine the promotion went to a female because the firm was afraid of possible action by the law if they did not select a female.What Evan is experiencing is known as:

A)double indemnity.
B)de facto discrimination.
C)compensatory discrimination.
D)reverse discrimination.

Question 71

Ruby Bethune works for ElekTek,a firm producing sophisticated electronic equipment used in state-of-the-art security systems.Ruby is happy to see that the value of ElekTek's stock has reached $47 per share,because her company allows many of its employees,including Ruby,to buy a given number of shares of its stock for $30 per share for the next year regardless of how high the market price goes.ElekTek is offering its employees a stock:

A)option plan.
B)reinvestment plan.
C)annuity plan.
D)dividend.

Question 72

A common way of compensating teams is a system,in which bonuses are based on improvements over a previous performance baseline.

A)gain-sharing
B)piecework
C)commission
D)stock option

Question 73

A major reason workers tend to receive fewer promotions than in the past is that:

A)firms have found that promoting employees can create jealousy and resentment among the workers who are not promoted.
B)very few of today's supervisors and lower-level managers have the qualifications needed to move into higher management positions.
C)most firms now believe hiring people outside the organization is a better way to fill management positions because it brings in "new blood."
D)there has been a movement toward flatter organizational structures,so there are fewer opportunities to move upward.

Question 74

A worker who successfully completes an apprenticeship program is known as a:

A)master craftsman.
B)journeyman.
C)probationary craftsman.
D)senior artisan.

Question 75

The number of laws and regulations that deal with human resource management in Canada number in the what?

A)Hundreds
B)High forties
C)Thousands
D)Low teens

Question 76

In human resource management,is the process of deciding who should be hired,under legal guidelines,for the best interests of the individual and the organization.

A)applicant analysis
B)performance appraisal
C)selection
D)interviewing

Question 77

The time when all employees must be present in a flextime plan is referred to as:

A)compressed time.
B)shared time.
C)company time.
D)core time.

Question 78

Discrimination against dominant groups is referred to as:

A)conditional inequality.
B)qualification dissonance.
C)de facto discrimination.
D)reverse discrimination.

Question 79

The system is a pay system that is based on job tiers,with each tier having a strict pay range.

A)Gilbreath
B)Hay
C)Gantt
D)Steiner

Question 80

The first step in the selection process is usually:

A)the initial interview.
B)obtaining complete application forms.
C)placing a help wanted ad.
D)aptitude testing.