Deck 10: Human Resources Management

Question 1

When managers find that their employee supply is larger than its demand,they may decide to use attrition or layoffs and transfers to correct the problem.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

People are a source of competitive advantage when their skills,knowledge and abilities are not equally available to all competitors.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In the U.S.demographic trends have contributed to a shortage of workers with the appropriate skills and education levels.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Human resources management deals with formal systems for the management of people within the organization.

Question 5

Recruitment refers exclusively to external applicants.

Question 6

U.S.managers have responded to the labor shortage by decreasing training budgets.

Question 7

The human resource planning process occurs in three stages: planning,programming and evaluating.

Question 8

The "supply of labor" estimates how many and what types of employees the organization actually will have.

Question 9

Job analysis gives managers the job description and selection steps.

Question 10

Santa's Workshop,Inc.uses its computerized human resources information system to analyze its past rates of turnover,terminations and retirements.The company is looking at its external labor supply.

Question 11

A thorough job analysis may help organizations successfully defend themselves in lawsuits involving employment practices.

Question 12

The term human capital is often used today to describe the trading value of employees.

Question 13

Interviews are the most popular recruitment tool.

Question 14

Another term for human capital is intellectual capital.

Question 15

Teamwork and cooperation can be used to produce a people-based competitive advantage.

Question 16

Demand forecasting is one of the easiest parts of human resources planning.

Question 17

According to surveys most jobs are filled through newspaper advertising.

Question 18

Application builds on recruiting and involves decisions about whom to hire.

Question 19

People are a source of competitive advantage when others can copy their capabilities and contributions.

Question 20

Applications and resumes are the most popular selection tool.

Question 21

Reference check information is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain because of highly publicized lawsuits.

Question 22

Management by objectives involves a subordinate and a supervisor agreeing in advance on specific performance goals.

Question 23

A needs assessment is an analysis identifying the jobs,people,and departments for which training is necessary.

Question 24

Team training is training that focuses on identifying and reducing hidden biases against people with differences and developing the skills needed to manage a diversified workforce.

Question 25

A structured interview is a selection technique that involves asking all applicants the same questions and comparing their responses to a standardized set of answers.

Question 26

Content validity refers to the degree that a test actually predicts or correlates with job performance.

Question 27

It is a good idea to allow some time for debate during a termination interview.

Question 28

The process of laying off large numbers of managerial and other employees is referred to as outplacement.

Question 29

The process of using multiple sources of appraisal to gain a comprehensive perspective of one's performance is called a 180-degree appraisal.

Question 30

Performance appraisals serve two purposes: administrative and developmental.

Question 31

Effective feedback,while it may be a stressful task for both managers and subordinates,raises employee performance.

Question 32

Training involves teaching managers and professional employees broader skills needed for their present and future jobs.

Question 33

Adverse impact is one common reason employers are sued.

Question 34

The behavioral description interview explores what candidates have actually done in the past.

Question 35

Coaching,which is being trained by a superior,is usually the most effective and direct way to develop managers.

Question 36

Employment-at-will means that an employee may be terminated for any reason.

Question 37

An assessment center is the place where most interviews are conducted.

Question 38

The most common type of employee training today is web-based self-study.

Question 39

Internal factors affecting the wage mix include collective bargaining,worth of job and the employer's ability to pay.

Question 40

Over half of all U.S.companies conduct pre-employment drug tests.

Question 41

The planning process of human resources management begins with

A)determining the number and types of people needed to realize the organization's business plans.
B)recruiting individuals that will assist the organization to realize its business plans.
C)hiring the types of people that can assist the organization to realize its business plans.
D)evaluating an organization's present employees and their capabilities to fulfill the organization's business plans.
E)none of the above

Question 42

The United States uses arbitration while an agreement is in effect to avoid wildcat strikes or unplanned work stoppages.

Question 43

Belief that a union has power to obtain desired benefits can influence workers to vote for a union.

Question 44

Establishing formal systems for the management of people within the organization is the function of

A)job analysis.
B)labor relations.
C)human resources management.
D)orientation training.
E)leadership.

Question 45

The design and control of formal systems for the management of people within an organization is known as

A)performance management.
B)human resources management.
C)organization design.
D)management of organizations.
E)personnel resource management.

Question 46

Companies use empowerment programs,continuous improvement and total quality initiatives in order to achieve

A)complete organization.
B)imitation.
C)value.
D)rareness.
E)comprehensive employee benefits.

Question 47

Companies use empowerment programs,continuous improvement and total quality initiatives in order to achieve ______________ through their human resources.

A)a responsive organization
B)value
C)imitation
D)exclusivity
E)benchmarking

Question 48

The comparable-worth doctrine implies that women who perform different jobs of equal worth as those performed by men should be paid the same wage.

Question 49

In a union representation election,the union is considered to have won if a simple majority of those voting vote for the union.

Question 50

When managers and executives describe the strategic value of skills and knowledge of employees,they use the term

A)success.
B)effectiveness.
C)teamwork.
D)human capital.
E)employee skill base.

Question 51

The three basic required benefits are workers' compensation,health care and social security.

Question 52

The programming stage of human resources management consists of

A)hiring and firing.
B)evaluating employee performance levels.
C)determining appropriate automation methods.
D)implementing the plans determined earlier.
E)calculating legally justifiable compensation levels.

Question 53

The system of relations between workers and management is called team relations.

Question 54

Federal law requires employers to follow the comparable-worth doctrine.

Question 55

A cafeteria plan refers to the benefit of obtaining a free lunch at the workplace.

Question 56

Human resources planning has three stages.They are

A)planning,executing and delivering.
B)hiring,training and firing.
C)planning,programming and evaluating.
D)planning,delivering and evaluating.
E)recruiting,screening and hiring.

Question 57

One of the criteria for creating a competitive advantage through human resources is that they should be

A)expensive.
B)commonplace.
C)inimitable.
D)spontaneous.
E)low cost.

Question 58

Right-to-work states require workers to join a union.

Question 59

Firms can create a competitive advantage when human resources are

A)valuable.
B)rare.
C)inimitable.
D)organized.
E)all of the above.

Question 60

Concerns of human resource managers include which of the following?

A)How to manage employee layoffs
B)How to better understand needs of customers
C)Which products to produce
D)How to fund increased salaries
E)All of the above are concerns of HR managers

Question 61

When Apple developed the iPhone,it had to determine how many engineers and designers were needed,and for launch,they had to estimate how many production and marketing employees would be required.According to the text,these are examples of Apple's

A)demand forecasts.
B)internal labor supply.
C)external labor supply.
D)job analysis.
E)job specifications.

Question 62

Which of the following is the stage of the HR planning process in which the organization enacts specific human resource activities,such as recruitment and training?

A)planning.
B)controlling.
C)programming.
D)evaluation.
E)implementation.

Question 63

In changing from a rapidly growing,entrepreneurial organization to a mature business with more stable growth,Dell went outside the organization to hire managers who better fit those needs.According to the text,they did this because

A)external candidates are more likely to enjoy working at Dell.
B)this prevents a demoralizing effect on employees.
C)this encourages current employees to continue their employment at Dell.
D)this provides a limited application applicant pool,which eases the selection process.
E)internal recruiting inhibits change.

Question 64

A significant advantage associated with external recruiting is that it

A)brings in "new blood" to inspire innovation.
B)is the most cost-effective method.
C)limits the applicant pool,easing selection decisions.
D)it motivates current employees.
E)draws more ethical people to the company.

Question 65

______ refers to the essential tasks,duties and responsibilities involved in performing a job.

A)A job specification
B)A job description
C)A job profile
D)A job appraisal
E)A job selection

Question 66

An internal mechanism for promoting open job positions is

A)job bidding.
B)job notification.
C)job posting.
D)job promotion.
E)job messaging.

Question 67

Jules and Mimi both applied for a position with Brit Pharmaceuticals.After their interviews,they "compared notes" and found that they had been asked the exact same questions! Their interviews would be considered

A)controlled.
B)prearranged.
C)valid according to empirical tests but not content tests.
D)structured.
E)informal.

Question 68

Recruitment is

A)choosing an employee for a job.
B)developing a pool of applicants for a job.
C)selecting a group of applicants for employment.
D)determining the number of employees needed.
E)promoting from within.

Question 69

Perhaps the most difficult part of human resources planning is conducting

A)demand forecasts.
B)internal labor supply forecasts.
C)external labor supply forecasts.
D)job analyses.
E)job specifications.

Question 70

Selection decisions concern

A)developing a pool of applicants.
B)which applicant to hire.
C)where to place new hires.
D)pay levels to achieve.
E)determining workers affected by a layoff.

Question 71

The skills,knowledge,abilities and other characteristics needed to perform a job are detailed in a

A)job description.
B)job selection.
C)job specification.
D)job profile.
E)job design.

Question 72

Cellular Tech has developed a new cellular telephone which will be marketed toward developing third-world countries.It is estimated that the demand for the new product will start out slow and accelerate as the product becomes increasingly familiar to worldwide consumers.In order to determine the number of workers necessary to staff the new production facilities,Cellular Tech needs to conduct

A)a market search.
B)a utilization survey.
C)a demand forecast.
D)an inventory calculation.
E)recruitment schedules.

Question 73

_____________ activities increase the pool of candidates that might be selected for a job.

A)Recruitment
B)Job description
C)Mobilization
D)Job enlistment
E)Job enrollment

Question 74

Which of the following explores what candidates have actually done in the past?

A)Situational interview
B)Contingency interview
C)Behavioral description interview
D)Unstructured interview
E)None of the above

Question 75

Which two are included in a job analysis?

A)A job description and a job specification
B)A job description and a job appraisal
C)A job specification and a job profile
D)A job specification and a job appraisal
E)A job profile and a job design

Question 76

A tool for determining what is done on a given job and what should be done on that job is called a

A)job description.
B)job analysis.
C)job specification.
D)job profile.
E)job design.

Question 77

During the planning process,human resource managers do which of the following?

A)Demand forecasts
B)Internal recruiting
C)Outplacement
D)Training and development
E)Environmental scanning

Question 78

The estimate an organization makes regarding the number and quality of its current employees and the availability of workers externally is called a(n)

A)demand forecast.
B)job analysis.
C)environmental scan.
D)availability analysis.
E)labor supply forecast.

Question 79

The final stage in the human resource planning process is to

A)evaluate the activities conducted to ensure that they are producing the desired results.
B)discharge those employees determined to be ineffective at realizing organizational goals.
C)restart the process.
D)evaluate the decisions made for legal compliance.
E)distribute compensation adjustments.

Question 80

Which of these methods has been found to be the way most job positions get filled?

A)Want ads
B)Employee referrals
C)Private employment agencies
D)Unions
E)Drop-in application