Deck 5: Personnel Planning and Recruiting

Question 1

Which of the following is most frequently used by retailers to estimate short-term personnel needs?

A) recruiting yield pyramids
B) position replacement cards
C) personnel replacement charts
D) computerized forecasting programs

Answer 1

D
Explanation: D)Computerized forecasting programs are used to translate projected productivity and sales levels into anticipated personnel needs.Many firms,especially retailers,use computerized employee forecasting systems to estimate short-term needs.

Question 2

Which of the following terms refers to studying a firm's past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs?

A) ratio analysis
B) trend analysis
C) graphical analysis
D) computer analysis

Answer 2

B
Explanation: B)A trend analysis is the study of a firm's variation of past employment levels over a period of years to predict future needs.The purpose of a trend analysis is to identify trends that might continue into the future.A trend analysis can provide firms with an initial estimate of future staffing needs.

Question 3

When using either a trend analysis or a ratio analysis,it is assumed that ________ will remain the same.

A) staffing levels
B) currency rates
C) productivity levels
D) recruitment plans

Answer 3

C
Explanation: C)Both a trend analysis and a ratio analysis assume that productivity remains about the same.For example,when using a ratio analysis,an assumption is made that you cannot motivate a salesperson to produce more than he or she has sold in the past.With a trend analysis,historical productivity trends are used and are the basis for predicting the future.

Question 4

Which of the following determines future staff needs by using ratios between a causal factor and the number of employees required?

A) ratio analysis
B) forecasting ratio
C) personnel ratio
D) ratio matrix

Question 5

Newton Building Supplies hopes to generate an extra $4 million in sales next year.A salesperson traditionally generates $800,000 in sales each year.Using ratio analysis,how many new salespeople should Newton hire?

A) 2
B) 5
C) 10
D) 20

Question 6

Marcus,an HR manager for Samsung,must decide what positions the firm should fill in the next six months,which means Marcus is currently working on ________.

A) screening job candidates
B) personnel planning
C) interviewing job candidates
D) writing job descriptions

Question 7

Which of the following enhances the security of a firm's database management system by specifying the type of information that a user can obtain?

A) search engine
B) access matrix
C) main server
D) intranet

Question 8

________ is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them.

A) Recruitment
B) Selection
C) Job analysis
D) Workforce planning

Question 9

A ________ is a graphical method used to help identify the relationship between two variables.

A) trend analysis
B) ratio analysis
C) scatter plot
D) productivity chart

Question 10

Which of the following contains data regarding employees' education,career development,and special skills and is used by managers when selecting inside candidates for promotion?

A) computerized forecasting tools
B) qualifications inventories
C) trend records
D) scatter plots

Question 11

When managers need to determine which employees are available for promotion or transfer,they will most likely use ________.

A) scatter plots
B) skills inventories
C) estimated sales trends
D) personnel forecasts

Question 12

A trend analysis is limited in its usefulness because it ________.

A) overlooks the passage of time in regards to staffing
B) addresses only the financial impact of employment changes
C) assumes constant increases in worker productivity
D) overlooks changes in workforce demographics

Question 13

The process of deciding how to fill executive positions at a firm is known as ________.

A) internal recruiting
B) succession planning
C) long-term forecasting
D) advanced interviewing

Question 14

What is the first step in the recruitment and selection process?

A) performing initial screening interviews
B) building a pool of candidates
C) performing candidate background checks
D) deciding what positions to fill

Question 15

What mathematical process do employers use to forecast availability of internal job candidates that shows the probabilities of feeder positions in a chain will be filled?

A) trend analysis
B) access analysis
C) Markov analysis
D) workforce analysis

Question 16

Which of the following refers to company records showing present performance and promotability of inside candidates for a firm's top positions?

A) yield pyramids
B) trend analysis charts
C) succession planning tools
D) personnel replacement charts

Question 17

A firm's ________ should guide employment planning and determine the types of skills and competencies the firm needs.

A) job analysis
B) organization chart
C) marketing plan
D) strategic business plan

Question 18

Which of the following terms refers to the background investigations,tests,and physical exams that firms use to identify viable candidates for a job?

A) selection tools
B) job analysis methods
C) personnel techniques
D) forecasting tools

Question 19

Succession planning requires making forecasts of three elements:________,develop inside candidates,assess and choose those who will fill the key position.

A) identify key needs
B) job specifications
C) global trends
D) labor relations

Question 20

Qualifications inventories can be tracked and maintained by using all of the following EXCEPT a ________.

A) ratio analysis matrix
B) personnel replacement chart
C) position replacement card
D) skills inventory software

Question 21

What is the first step in succession planning?

A) creating an applicant pool
B) identifying and analyzing key needs
C) selecting who will fill key positions
D) developing the strengths of current employees

Question 22

Counselors in state-run employment agencies conduct all of the following activities EXCEPT ________.

A) reviewing employer job requirements
B) filing employer tax reports
C) visiting employer work sites
D) writing job descriptions

Question 23

Finding or attracting applicants for an employer's open positions is known as ________.

A) succession planning
B) employee recruiting
C) personnel planning
D) job posting

Question 24

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next three years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum as employees remain with the company for one or two years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. All of the following questions are relevant to Marie's decision to fill top positions at the new hotels with internal candidates EXCEPT ________.

A) What are the key managerial positions that are available at the new hotels?
B) What percentage of employers in the service industry use succession planning?
C) What skills, education, and training have been provided to potential candidates?
D) What is the designated procedure for assessing and selecting potential candidates?

Question 25

Which of the following is the primary disadvantage of using internal sources of candidates to fill vacant positions in a firm?

A) lack of knowledge regarding a candidate's strengths
B) potential to lose employees who aren't promoted
C) questionable commitment of candidates to the firm
D) significant training and orientation requirements

Question 26

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next three years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum as employees remain with the company for one or two years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if true,best supports the argument that Marie should implement a computerized skills inventory database?

A) Barnum offers its employees the opportunities to participate in job rotation and job expansion experiences.
B) Barnum's recruiting yield pyramid indicates that the firm should generate 1,000 leads in order to fill 100 positions.
C) Barnum executives would like to transfer the firm's most qualified employees to the new hotels to fill supervisory positions.
D) HR managers at Barnum frequently receive discrimination complaints that must be investigated by the EEOC.

Question 27

The ongoing process of systematically identifying,assessing,and developing organizational leadership to enhance performance is known as ________.

A) employee mentoring
B) succession planning
C) work sampling
D) employee recruiting

Question 28

A ________ is used to calculate the number of applicants a firm must generate to hire the required number of new employees.

A) trend analysis
B) ratio analysis
C) recruiting yield pyramid
D) scatter plot

Question 29

What is the primary purpose of an applicant tracking system?

A) sorting resumes based on an applicant's years of work experience
B) generating advertisements for attracting and gathering applicants
C) assisting employers in attracting, screening, and managing applicants
D) assisting recruiters with locating internal applicants for key positions

Question 30

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next three years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum as employees remain with the company for one or two years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if true,best supports Marie's plan to centralize Barnum's recruitment efforts?

A) Online screening tests are given to all Barnum recruits to assess skills and future potential.
B) Barnum's high turnover rate is most likely due to inadequate training requirements.
C) Barnum enforces a strict policy about hiring employees' family members.
D) Barnum has 20 separate local recruiting Web sites.

Question 31

When constructing a job advertisement,all of the following are aspects of the AIDA guide EXCEPT ________.

A) attracting attention to the ad
B) implying long-term benefits
C) prompting applicant action
D) developing interest in the job

Question 32

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next three years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum as employees remain with the company for one or two years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if true,most likely undermines Marie's decision to fill top positions with inside candidates?

A) Barnum needs to head in a different direction with innovative ideas if it is to remain competitive with other hotel chains.
B) Many current Barnum employees have indicated they are loyal to the firm by rejecting offers to work at competing hotels.
C) Training new employees about the practices and procedures at Barnum is costly in regards to both time and money.
D) The influence of local labor unions and EEO legislation is blamed for the high turnover rate among Barnum employees.

Question 33

The ________ run by the U.S.Department of Labor enables public employment agency counselors to advise applicants about local and national job openings.

A) U.S. Career Center
B) National Job Bank
C) National Employment Agency
D) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Question 34

Which of the following factors plays the greatest role in determining the best medium for a job advertisement?

A) skills needed for the job
B) job compensation and salary
C) time allowed to fill the position
D) graphics used in the advertisement

Question 35

All of the following are characteristics of a job posting EXCEPT ________.

A) listing the job's attributes
B) providing the job's pay rate
C) publicizing the open job to employees
D) indicating the preferred number of applicants

Question 36

All of the following are methods used by firms to develop high-potential candidates for future positions EXCEPT ________.

A) providing internal training
B) implementing job rotation
C) offering global assignments
D) developing skills inventories

Question 37

A recruiting yield pyramid is the historical arithmetic relationship between all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) internal and external candidates
B) offers made and offers accepted
C) recruitment leads and invitees
D) interviews and offers made

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a tool used by firms to recruit outside candidates?

A) newspaper advertising
B) intranet job postings
C) employment agencies
D) online job boards

Question 39

Recruiting is necessary to ________.

A) determine whether to use inside or outside candidates
B) forecast the short-term supply of outside candidates
C) create positive word-of-mouth about a firm
D) develop an applicant pool

Question 40

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next three years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum as employees remain with the company for one or two years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if true,best supports the argument that a scatter plot is the most appropriate tool for Marie to use in estimating future personnel needs?

A) Productivity levels for Barnum employees typically vary from month to month.
B) The size of the two new Barnum hotels will be similar to the chain's other hotels.
C) Barnum requires HR to maintain qualifications inventories for all current employees.
D) Personnel replacement charts serve as useful tools when filling Barnum's managerial positions.

Question 41

Which of the following is a service that provides short-term specialized recruiting to support specific projects without the expense of retaining traditional search firms?

A) top-executive searches
B) contingent-based searches
C) on-demand recruiting services
D) just-in-time recruiting services

Question 42

Pamlico River Productions is seeking a top-level manager to oversee its finance division.Qualified candidates can be difficult to find,so the business would most likely benefit from using a(n)________ to recruit potential candidates.

A) executive recruiter
B) temporary agency
C) Internet-based job site
D) alternate staffing recruiter

Question 43

Which of the following terms refers to the use of nontraditional recruitment sources?

A) negligent hiring
B) personnel planning
C) human resource management
D) alternative staffing

Question 44

An employer will most likely use a private employment agency in order to ________.

A) receive assistance writing job ads
B) adhere to federal hiring practices
C) fill a specific job opening quickly
D) spend more time recruiting applicants

Question 45

Which of the following would be the best option for a business that needs to attract local applicants for hourly jobs?

A) employee referral campaigns
B) on-demand recruiting services
C) college recruiting
D) walk-ins

Question 46

All of the following are common concerns that have been expressed to researchers by temporary employees EXCEPT ________.

A) being in compliance with equal employment laws
B) feeling insecure about their employment situation
C) worrying about the lack of insurance benefits
D) being treated impersonally by employers

Question 47

Newton Manufacturing is using a private employment agency to recruit individuals for management positions.As the HR manager at Newton,you need to ensure that applicants are screened properly,so you should ________.

A) provide the agency with an accurate job description
B) post jobs on the firm's intranet and bulletin boards
C) develop applicant screening software for internal hires
D) send HR experts to monitor the agency's recruiting activities

Question 48

In regards to on-campus recruiting,which of the following is most likely to help sell the employer to the interviewee?

A) recruiter's professional attire
B) sincerity of the recruiter
C) emphasis on the job location
D) well-written job descriptions

Question 49

What is an advantage of using employee referral campaigns?

A) Local, hourly workers can be recruited quickly.
B) Applicants have received realistic job previews.
C) Rewards and incentives are eliminated.
D) Applicants have community ties.

Question 50

Which of the following is typically responsible for paying the fees charged by a private employment agency when an applicant is placed in a job?

A) employers
B) employees
C) state employment commissions
D) independent recruiters

Question 51

Which of the following is the primary disadvantage for employers who use private employment agencies to fill positions?

A) White-collar applicants are difficult to attract.
B) Applicant screening may not be thorough.
C) Applicant processing time is too lengthy.
D) Application procedures are complicated.

Question 52

Which of the following has improved the ability of executive recruiters to find potential candidates?

A) mobility premiums
B) Internet databases
C) corporate intranets
D) broad banding

Question 53

What is the typical compensation structure for on-demand recruiting services?

A) hourly rate
B) commission
C) percentage fee
D) signing bonus

Question 54

Jessica Garza is a manager at a large retail store.Currently,Jessica has four temporary workers under her supervision that a local staffing agency has provided.In which of the following tasks related to the temporary workers should Jessica become directly involved?

A) negotiating the pay rate
B) setting the time-off policies
C) answering task-related questions
D) providing online training and development

Question 55

________ are special employment agencies retained by employers to seek out top management talent for their clients.

A) State-run employment agencies
B) Private employment agencies
C) Temporary agencies
D) Executive recruiters

Question 56

Kate works as a nurse on temporary assignment for hospitals throughout the region on an as-needed basis.Kate is most likely ________.

A) working as a contingent worker
B) participating in a job rotation
C) using job enlargement
D) benchmarking jobs

Question 57

Which of the following best explains why firms are using temporary workers more frequently?

A) low cost when hired through agencies
B) workers' desires for flexible schedules
C) high cost of workers' compensation insurance
D) weak economic confidence among employers

Question 58

A small software firm is seeking several permanent employees with experience in the semiconductor industry and advanced degrees in computer science.The firm is a small one and cannot afford to pay a traditional recruiting firm a fee of 30% per each hire's salary.Instead,this firm should consider using a(n)________.

A) contingency-based recruiter
B) temporary staffing agency
C) outsourcing staffing service
D) on-demand recruiting service

Question 59

Which of the following is a primary goal of college recruiters?

A) building relationships with college career centers
B) cutting future recruiting costs for the firm
C) developing a pool of temporary workers
D) attracting good candidates

Question 60

What is the primary advantage of college recruiting?

A) minimal preparation required
B) flexible, short-term interview schedule
C) inexpensive method of screening applicants
D) access to a source of management trainees

Question 61

Which of the following is NOT information that should be requested on application forms?

A) experience
B) technical skills
C) marital status
D) training

Question 62

Employment planning should be an integral part of a firm's strategic and HR planning process.

Question 63

Which of the following motivates most employees over 65 to work?

A) overtime payments
B) schedule flexibility
C) supportive work environments
D) additional sick days

Question 64

The fastest growing labor force segment in the United States over the next few years will be those from ________ years old.

A) 23-29
B) 30-44
C) 45-64
D) 65+

Question 65

Smith Industries has set a goal of recruiting minority applicants.Which of the following methods is LEAST likely to be successful for Smith Industries?

A) offering flexible work schedules
B) providing flexible benefits plans
C) utilizing executive recruiters
D) collaborating with professional organizations

Question 66

A Markov analysis is primarily used to ________.

A) predict the long-term employment needs in an industry
B) assess the productivity and tenure of a job applicant
C) forecast the availability of internal job candidates
D) analyze the effectiveness of recruitment sources

Question 67

Access matrices are used to define the rights of users to various kinds of access for each element in a personnel database.

Question 68

The use of the Internet enables firms to centralize their recruitment efforts.

Question 69

Which of the following is most likely a true statement about mandatory alternative dispute resolution agreements?

A) Most federal courts have found the documents unenforceable.
B) Judicial appeals and reconsideration are available if legal errors occur.
C) Employees absorb most of the costs associated with the arbitration process.
D) Job applicants are typically more interested in firms that require arbitration.

Question 70

The assumption shared by both trend analysis and ratio analysis is that productivity remains about the same from year to year.

Question 71

According to EEO laws,it is always illegal to recruit applicants with gender-specific ads,but using word-of-mouth to spread information about job opportunities is legal in all situations.

Question 72

An employer's computerized recruitment system should include all of the following elements EXCEPT ________.

A) hypertext transfer protocol to enable applicants to post their resumes in any format or font
B) requisition management systems to facilitate routing, approval, and posting of job openings
C) hiring management software to collect and manage candidate information
D) recruitment marketing to improve applicant pool quality

Question 73

Personnel planning requires an estimation of personnel needs,the supply of inside candidates,and the likely supply of outside candidates.

Question 74

Which employment field is especially effective at workforce planning?

A) electrical utilities
B) automotive
C) higher education
D) banking

Question 75

Publicizing an open job to employees through a firm's intranet or bulletin board is known as job posting.

Question 76

The HR manager who recruits for a vacant job is typically the one who is responsible for supervising the performance of that position.

Question 77

When it refers to filling jobs like that of a maintenance clerk,personnel planning is called succession planning.

Question 78

Which Web site is increasingly serving as a recruitment source for passive job candidates?

A) Career Builder
B) You Tube
C) LinkedIn
D) Monster

Question 79

When making personnel plans,a manager primarily needs to focus on the firm's personnel needs,the supply of inside candidates,and the estimated supply of outside candidates.

Question 80

Dixon Industries adheres to a talent management philosophy.As the HR manager at Dixon,you should most likely ________.

A) continuously monitor workforce planning issues
B) primarily use recruiters for top executive jobs
C) frequently assess the online HR Scorecard
D) regularly implement the Markov analysis