Deck 5: Personnel Planning and Recruiting

Question 1

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

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

Answer 1

C
Explanation: C)Markov analysis is used to forecast availability of internal job candidates by showing the probabilities that employees in the chain of feeder positions for a key job will move from position to position and therefore be available to fill the key position.

Question 2

A ________ is a graphical method used to help identify how two variables are related.

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

Answer 2

C
Explanation: C)A scatter plot graphically illustrates the relationship between two variables such as sales and your firm's staffing levels.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

B
Explanation: B)Workforce (or employment or personnel)planning is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them. The process embraces all future positions from maintenance workers to CEO, and flows from the firm's strategic plans.

Question 4

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 5

________ 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 6

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 7

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

Question 8

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 9

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 the potential for changes in skills needed

Question 10

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 11

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 planning
D)strategic business planning

Question 12

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 13

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

Question 14

Workforce planning often involves paying continuous attention to workforce planning issues which is called:

A)personnel replacement chart
B)predictive workforce monitoring
C)personnel replacement charts
D)yield pyramids

Question 15

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 16

Succession planning requires making forecasts of in three steps: ________, 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 17

Pablo wants to figure out likely future employment needs for Slate Industries by examining past organizational employment needs of the company. This is an example of:

A)a qualification inventory
B)ratio analysis
C)succession planning
D)trend analysis

Question 18

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 19

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 20

When managers need to determine which current 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 21

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

Question 22

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 23

Dixon Industries wants to engage in predictive workforce monitoring. 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

Question 24

Smith Industries is thinking of having another company take care of its benefits management. This is called:

A)outsourcing
B)recruiting
C)telecommuting
D)screening

Question 25

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

Question 26

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

Question 27

In a brief essay, explain what workforce planning is and how it fits with the organization's strategic planning.

Question 28

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

Question 29

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 30

Bob needs to find and attract applicants to his company's open positions, which is known as ________.

A)trend analysis
B)engagement
C)staffing
D)employee recruiting

Question 31

What methods are used by both small and large firms to forecast the supply of inside candidates?

Question 32

What is the first step in succession planning?

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

Question 33

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 34

What tools are available for projecting personnel needs? Provide your answer in a brief essay.

Question 35

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 36

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

Question 37

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 38

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 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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 45

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 46

According to U.S. court ruling, 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 47

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 48

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 49

What are the pros and cons associated with using internal sources of job candidates? What are the pros and cons of using Internet recruiting to locate external sources of job candidates?

Question 50

It is illegal for employers to conspire not to hire each other's employees.

Question 51

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 52

Firms can reduce potential problems associated with rehiring former employees by crediting them with the years of service they had accumulated before they left.

Question 53

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 54

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 55

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

Question 56

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 57

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 58

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 59

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

Question 60

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 61

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 62

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 63

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 64

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 65

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 66

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 67

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 68

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 69

One type of workers is ________, who do all or most of their work remotely, often from home, using information technology.

A)telecommuters
B)temps
C)walk-ins
D)recruiters

Question 70

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 71

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 72

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 73

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 74

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 75

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 76

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

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

Question 77

________ 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 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

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 80

Approximately what percentage of new college graduates are hired to fill externally filled jobs that require a college degree?

A)7%
B)83%
C)16%
D)38%