Deck 5: Managing Human Resources

Question 1

According to Alvesson,______ refers to the unintended advantage that organizations enjoy by employing talented people.

A)human capital advantage
B)knowledge-intensive firm
C)human process advantage
D)human resource management

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to your textbook,what was once one of the most profitable human resource?

A)lawyers
B)immigrants
C)slaves
D)pirates

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An organization that acknowledges same-sex partners in their employee medical and dental insurance can be said to be accounting for ______ diversity.

A)sexual
B)geographic
C)gender
D)cultural

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An organization that offers male and female employees travel allowances,fuel reimbursements,and employs both local and interstate people can be said to be accounting for ______ diversity.

A)financial
B)geographic
C)gender
D)all of these

Question 5

Which of the following is not true of affirmative action (positive discrimination)?

A)ensures a person gets the job before anyone else because they are from a minority group
B)seeks to reverse the consequences of years of discrimination based on a person's sex,race,religion,etc.
C)ensures that when a person from a minority group applies for a position,and possesses similar knowledge,skills,and education as an applicant from a non-minority group,the minority member gets the job
D)helps promote equity and diversity within organizations and society at large

Question 6

Which one of the following is not an example of human capital advantage?

A)An employer implements the ideas offered to him by his talented staff.
B)An employer finds out her employee is a former junior diplomat to China and uses her knowledge and networks to access the Chinese market.
C)An employer implements an IT monitoring system that ensures his staff are as efficient and productive as possible.
D)An employer appoints a student with an MBA to a new managerial position.

Question 7

According to Alvesson,______ refers to the processes that are difficult to imitate and help align humans and processes.

A)human capital advantage
B)knowledge-intensive firm
C)human process advantage
D)human resource management

Question 8

Typically,which generation was born between the 1960s and 1980s,lived at times of high levels of unemployment and economic recession,and can be somewhat cynical?

A)Generation Y
B)Baby Boomers
C)Generation X
D)Naughties

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of diversity?

A)a gymnasium that operates exclusively for women
B)a religious cult
C)a secular society
D)all of these

Question 10

Which one of the following is an example of human process advantage?

A)An employer implements the ideas offered to him by his talented staff.
B)An employer implements computer-mediated collaborative technology that ensures staff are able to collaborate virtually.
C)An employer finds out her employee is a former junior diplomat to China and uses her knowledge and networks to access the Chinese market.
D)An employer appoints a student with an MBA to a new managerial position.

Question 11

______ create value by solving clients' problems through the direct application of expert knowledge.

A)HR managers
B)Strategic human resources
C)Knowledge-intensive firms
D)Virtual organizations

Question 12

An organization that refuses to employ Muslim women can be said to be ignoring principles of ______ diversity.

A)religious
B)sexual
C)gender
D)both religious and gender

Question 13

Typically,which generation was born between the 1980s and 1990s,tends to avoid jobs for life preferring to move around,and are technologically savvy?

A)Generation Y
B)Baby Boomers
C)Generation X
D)Naughties

Question 14

Typically,which generation was born between the 1940s and 1960s and tends to own their own home,have high incomes,but can be resistant to change and differences of opinion?

A)Generation Y
B)Baby Boomers
C)Generation X
D)Naughties

Question 15

Which of the following statements is not true about strategic human resource management?

A)The core HR functions should be consistent with business strategy and objectives.
B)The core HR functions can be transposed onto the formulation stage of business strategy to help the organization meet its strategic objectives.
C)The core HR function should formulate and drive the business strategy.
D)The core HR function can be transposed onto the implementation stage of business strategy.

Question 16

According to your textbook,a limitation with the 'strategic' aspect of HRM is ______.

A)Strategy is based on unknowable,uncertain,and ambiguous future events.
B)Strategy cannot be compartmentalized into actionable,plannable,and measurable events.
C)Over time strategic objectives no longer represent what they were originally meant to and can become meaningless.
D)all of these

Question 17

Which one of the following is an example of discrimination?

A)A supervisor complains to his pregnant staff member that she always gets pregnant so as to get time off work.
B)An man is overlooked for a position in a music store because he looks too mature.
C)A male employer makes uninvited sexual comments to his young assistant.
D)all of these

Question 18

Which of the following HR implications emerge out of the Baby Boomer generation?

A)As Baby Boomers keep ageing they will put increasing demands on our healthcare system.
B)Because of their technological savvy Baby Boomers will tend toward jobs with modern technologies.
C)Baby Boomers will be more receptive to HR policies that have a positive benefit on their retirement.
D)Baby Boomers complain a lot,so HR managers will have to be careful not to upset them.

Question 19

In your textbook,which one of the following is an extreme example of the recruitment and selection of applicants for a job?

A)SMS messaging applicant on a mobile or cell phone
B)the show called The Apprentice
C)multiple hurdles
D)all of these

Question 20

Which well-known organization theorist argues that human resource practices are inappropriate for attracting,retaining,and developing knowledge workers,and the aim of HR should be to ensure an organization appeals to talented staff?

A)Edgar Schein
B)Mats Alvesson
C)Karl Weick
D)Chris Argyris

Question 21

According to your textbook,what is one of the concerns of using tests and measures in the human resource selection process?

A)Tests and measures are too costly and take too long so are not worth the time and effort.
B)Tests and measures allow discrimination against people who refuse to complete them.
C)Tests and measures raise serious ethical issues relating to people's privacy.
D)all of these

Question 22

What is an important issue to remember in the recruitment stage?

A)that the selection criteria attract the most suitable and desirable applicants for the job
B)that applicants are provided with a realistic job preview
C)that the appropriate media are used for the recruitment drive
D)all of these

Question 23

How does Professor of HR,Edward E.Lawler III,refer to people who are not deemed to be productive and performing at work?

A)potential human capital
B)vermin human capital
C)obsolete human capital
D)government employees

Question 24

Explain the Scanlon method,developed by Joseph Scanlon in the 1940s.How has Ricardo Semler incorporated such ideas in his business?

Question 25

The human resource process and practice of attracting employees to the organization is called ______.

A)selection
B)retention
C)recruitment
D)attraction

Question 26

______ represent the belief in the market mechanism,neo-liberalism,and self-interest in the employer/employee contract.

A)Collective agreements
B)Individual agreements
C)Psychological contracts
D)Person-to-person handshake

Question 27

Biofeedback,lie detection,the Big-Five personality factor,IQ,and tests of cognitive ability are all ______.

A)examples of invasions of privacy
B)examples of self-discovery
C)examples of the tests and measurement used by HR
D)all of these

Question 28

Compare and contrast collective and individual agreements.

Question 29

According to your textbook,often the ______ is the very first opportunity for an employee to demonstrate that he/she is a strong candidate for the vacant position.

A)interview
B)job application
C)follow-up letter
D)all of these

Question 30

What does esteemed Professor of HR,Edward E.Lawler III,argue about loyalty contracts?

A)Loyalty contracts are one of the most critical ways of retaining talent.
B)Loyalty contracts should be replaced with value propositions.
C)Loyalty contracts are a thing of the future.
D)Loyalty contracts are a good way to identify poor-performing staff.

Question 31

Which one of the following is NOT a core practice and process of human resource management?

A)the recruitment of new staff
B)the retention of existing staff
C)the development of staff
D)the management of staff performance

Question 32

An association of wage-earning employees,organized and mobilized in order to represent its constituents,is commonly referred to as ______.

A)an employer association
B)a job club
C)a union
D)an industrial relations commission

Question 33

According to your textbook,what is one of the biggest challenges facing the union movement in the industrialized world?

A)It is full of communists.
B)Its membership is growing too quickly.
C)Its members are too violent in protests.
D)Its membership is declining.

Question 34

______ represent interventionist ideologies inherent in unions in negotiating contracts between employers and employees.

A)Collective agreements
B)Individual agreements

Question 35

According to your textbook,why should managers pay specific attention to the organization's occupational health and safety (OHS)policies and practices?

A)because managers can be held criminally liable for OHS violations,especially if an employee,client,visitor,or customer is killed
B)because the aim of OHS legislation is to prevent death and disability at work
C)because OHS sets out the company's policies on workplace health and safety (such as compensation,sick leave,etc. )
D)all of these

Question 36

Which of the following HR implications can be associated with Generation Y employees?

A)HR managers will need to tend to succession planning to cope with the impending retirements of Generation Y.
B)HR managers will need to develop strategies and policies that attract and maintain Generation Y employees.
C)HR managers must ensure policies and practices live up to the expectations of the overly cynical Generation Y.
D)all of these

Question 37

According to your textbook,what does research on selection tools suggest?

A)that they rarely work and employers are better off using their formal and informal networks
B)that when used appropriately multiple hurdles are more effective in selecting the most ideal candidate
C)that there is no difference between randomly selecting a person and using selection tools
D)that current selection tools such as tests and measurements are an absolute invasion of privacy and should be banned as a form of selection

Question 38

Which American unionist and MIT graduate was responsible for improving employer/employee relations by involving unions in business decision making,and introduced open book management in order to benefit society?

A)George W.Bush
B)Joseph Scanlon
C)Ricardo Semler
D)Hilary Clinton

Question 39

According to your textbook,what is one of the concerns of using tests and measures in the human resource selection process?

A)The tests don't measure anything that correlates to performance of tasks at work.
B)Some tests can be discriminatory and a basis for litigation due to their cultural bias.
C)Tests and measures are better than interview techniques.
D)all of these

Question 40

What does Professor of HR,Edward E.Lawler III,refer to when he says HR strategies should be designed to retain talent by rewarding ongoing performance and skill development aligned to business strategy?

A)basic HR function
B)virtuous spirals
C)the elevator effect
D)new-age HR

Question 41

Define and explain in detail the core human resource functions.

Question 42

Argue for and against the use of drug tests in the human resource selection process.

Question 43

What does Mats Alvesson mean by human capital advantage and human process advantage?