Deck 9: Attracting and Retaining the Best Employees

Question 1

The primary disadvantage of internal recruiting is that promoting a current employee leaves another position to be filled, possibly meaning that two employees must be trained instead of one.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Performance appraisal is the evaluation of an employee's current and potential levels of performance within a firm.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The wage structure is almost always developed on the basis of job evaluation.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Compensation and benefits are related to employee motivation.

Question 5

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act passed in 1974 requires firms to provide a retirement plan for their employees.

Question 6

The results of training evaluations should not be made known to all those involved in training programs.

Question 7

No federal law forbids age discrimination against people younger than 40.

Question 8

In the selection process, the goal should always be to hire the person with the most qualifications.

Question 9

The results of an evaluation should be discussed with an employee soon after the evaluation is completed.

Question 10

A flexible benefit plan allows an employee to allocate a predetermined amount of benefit dollars to various categories of benefits to design a benefit mix that best fits that employee's needs.

Question 11

A diversity program can be successful even without strong, sustained commitment from top management.

Question 12

Legislation regarding personnel practices has been primarily in the areas of employee rights, job safety, and elimination of discrimination.

Question 13

The phase of human resources management in which an employee's skills are improved and his or her capabilities are expanded is known as maintaining.

Question 14

Human resources planning and recruiting are two of the activities carried out during the development phase of human resources management.

Question 15

A skills inventory is a computerized list of all the skills a prospective employee needs to fill a position.

Question 16

Because today's employees are better educated, they want greater flexibility and independence, competitive compensation, and a better quality of life.

Question 17

Human resources management is the sole responsibility of line managers.

Question 18

Usually, management sets employees' pay levels higher than at comparable firms.

Question 19

The process of preparing managers and other professionals to assume increased responsibility in present and future positions is called employee training.

Question 20

Workplace diversity is forcing managers to learn to supervise and motivate people with a broader range of value systems.

Question 21

The assessment center technique for selecting employees is ideal for small firms because such centers involve limited expense.

Question 22

When demand is forecast to be greater than supply, plans must be made to reduce the size of the workforce.

Question 23

Today, most companies do not require employment applications.

Question 24

Job analysis provides a job description and a job specification for a particular position.

Question 25

Managers should view cultural diversity as an opportunity rather than as a limitation.

Question 26

The need to enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 led to the creation of OSHA.

Question 27

Subjective appraisal methods use some measurable quantity, such as dollar volume of sales, as the basis for assessing performance.

Question 28

In human resources management, job evaluation means that managers evaluate each employee on how well he or she is performing assigned tasks.

Question 29

Job analysis is the systematic procedure for studying jobs to determine expected levels of productivity.

Question 30

The collection of data on prevailing wage rates within an industry or geographic area is referred to as a wage survey.

Question 31

Attrition is a method of reducing the size of the workforce by permitting people who are within a few years of retirement to retire early with full benefits.

Question 32

Forecasting the human resources supply for a company is based on workforce statistics and industry growth projections provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Question 33

OSHA is charged with enforcing Title VII.

Question 34

A list of skills, abilities, education, and experience required for a position is called a job analysis.

Question 35

Job specification is a systematic procedure for studying jobs to determine their various elements and requirements.

Question 36

The two main purposes of employment applications are to identify candidates for further consideration and to provide background information for interviewers.

Question 37

Human resources management consists of or includes all activities involved in acquiring, maintaining, and developing an organization's human resources.

Question 38

A firm that properly manages cultural diversity can develop cost advantages over firms that do not manage diversity well.

Question 39

Job analysis is the list of qualifications required to perform a particular job.

Question 40

The process of acquainting new employees with an organization is called orientation.

Question 41

The development phase of human resources management consists of two important activities: (1) training and development (2) and

A)job analysis.
B)recruiting.
C)motivating.
D)appraising performance.
E)orientation.

Question 42

​One of the common errors made by managers appraising employees is

A)​overusing one portion of an evaluation instrument.
B)​being unfair.
C)​only saying nice things.
D)​failing to tell the employee where to improve.

Question 43

If the superior's job with a particular employee during a performance appraisal is simply to sit and listen and then have open dialogue about all that the employee has shared, what type of performance appraisal interview is this?

A)Tell-and-listen
B)Problem-solving
C)Tell-and-sell
D)Objective
E)Judgmental

Question 44

The Equal Pay Act applies directly to

A)discrimination based on age.
B)selection and promotion.
C)employee health and safety.
D)equal pay for equal work.
E)relations between a firm and a union.

Question 45

Information on evolving technologies, industry staffing practices, projected economic trends, the particular company's future business ventures, new products, and projected expansions or contractions of certain product lines can be helpful in predicting

A)human resources supply.
B)the level of industry unemployment.
C)human resources demand.
D)the quality of new applicants in the job market.
E)trends in the global market with regard to new skills.

Question 46

The 1998 annual report for Sears shows that, since 1978, it has experienced dramatic changes in the composition of its workforce. Sears has increased the number of women, blacks, and Hispanics in all job categories, including managerial, technical, and sales positions. This increase is most likely due to the company's

A)strong stand against reverse discrimination.
B)new image.
C)support of the OSHA amendments.
D)strong stand on equal pay.
E)affirmative action program.

Question 47

Performance feedback is most effective when managers

A)communicate tactfully and honestly with employees being appraised.
B)stress the feedback interview more than the evaluation interview.
C)stress positive performance and downplay negative performance.
D)stress the evaluation interview more than the feedback interview.
E)evaluate their subordinates on a daily basis.

Question 48

A wage is a specific amount of money paid per

A)month.
B)week.
C)hour.
D)year.
E)minute.

Question 49

A performance appraisal serves all of the following purposes except which of the following?

A)It lets workers know how well they are doing.
B)It allows the employee to see where he or she ranks against all the other employees in the company.
C)It provides an effective basis for distributing rewards.
D)It lets workers know how they can do better in the future.
E)It helps the organization monitor its employee selection, training, and development activities.

Question 50

Human resources planning is determining the firm's future human resources needs.

Question 51

Firms with federal government contracts that exceed $50,000 must have an affirmative action program.

Question 52

HR Solutions, Inc. (HRSI)
HR Solutions, Inc. (HRSI) is a human resources management company that specializes in helping small companies learn the right ways of handling human resources issues and activities. The company teaches the different activities that are involved in HR management, as well as teaching companies how to plan for the futur
HRSI is in the process of hiring new employees. This is a critical decision for the company because it is supposed to be the expert on this issu
Refer to HR Solutions, Inc. HRSI hopes that all companies can downsize simply by attrition, a word that, in this context, refers to

A)increasing quality.
B)being dismissed from the workforce.
C)people leaving the company.
D)retiring early because employees are within a few years of retirement anyway.
E)an increasing amount of work per employee.

Question 53

Mr. Cole was due to give evaluations of his company's top managers in a few days. He had heard little from Tom Wilson, one of his sales managers, for the past eleven months. On looking over Tom's progress record, Cole saw that Tom usually met his monthly goals. Nevertheless, he was not an outstanding employee. However, this month Tom had submitted a marketing idea that tripled sales for five slow-moving products. When asked to name the outstanding sales manager of the year, Cole could not think of a person more worthy than Tom. Disappointed that they were overlooked, several top managers complained that, in his decision, Cole was

A)allowing poor performance on one activity to influence his overall judgment.
B)allowing recent performance to be overemphasized.
C)discriminating on the basis of gender.
D)overemphasizing some issues and underemphasizing others.
E)discriminating on the basis of race and age.

Question 54

The executive orders that prescribe that employers actively encourage job applications from members of minority groups and hire qualified employees from minority groups that are not fully represented in their organization is known as ___.

A)Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
B)affirmative action
C)Age Discrimination in Employment Act
D)Fair Labor Standards Act
E)Affirmative Diversity

Question 55

Mr. Pines thought Ms. Smith was the ideal employee. Smith was an impressive person and attended all social functions of the company. However, during the past year she had trouble meeting sales quotas. Nevertheless, on her performance appraisal, Pines rated Smith as one of the top salespeople. On hearing this, other salespeople complained that Pines must guard against ____ in rating Smith.

A)allowing poor performance on one activity to influence his overall judgment
B)allowing recent performance to be overemphasized
C)discriminating on the basis of gender
D)overemphasizing some issues and underemphasizing others
E)discriminating on the basis of race and age

Question 56

As an HRM specialist, you are responsible for orienting a new group of employees. Your orientation topics will include all but of the following except

A)location of the company cafeteria.
B)introduction to coworkers.
C)interviewing skills.
D)career paths within the firm.
E)company benefits.

Question 57

A situation in which participants act out the roles of others so that they can better understand those roles is called

A)simulation training.
B)conferences.
C)on-the-job training.
D)role-playing.
E)seminars.

Question 58

All of the following are usually paid an hourly wage except workers in

A)clerical positions.
B)retailing.
C)management.
D)assembly lines.
E)fast food.

Question 59

Although he is aware that Tim's performance over the past year has not been quite up to standards, Jeff, his superior, left the impression on Tim after a performance appraisal interview that he is doing a great job and to keep up the good work. Jeff has a problem with

A)pointing out flaws in people.
B)verbally communicating with people.
C)discussing negative aspects of appraisals that may cause some discomfort for both parties.
D)being honest with people.
E)seeing the negative side of people because he is very optimistic and only sees good in people.

Question 60

Gathering information about applicants for a position and choosing the most appropriate applicant is called

A)recruitment.
B)selection.
C)orientation.
D)evaluation.
E)employing.

Question 61

The city government of St. Louis wants to be certain that its employment tests are legal. Therefore, it will be careful to use

A)only personality tests.
B)only OSHA-approved tests.
C)tests approved by the city council, the highest local law-making body.
D)tests that are valid predictors of personality.
E)tests that are valid predictors of on-the-job performance.

Question 62

A list specifying qualifications necessary for a particular position is called a job

A)description.
B)specification.
C)analysis.
D)orientation.
E)inventory.

Question 63

Training may be used in an organization to educate employees on all of the following except

A)product information.
B)motivation.
C)business ethics.
D)customer service.
E)technical aspects of the job.

Question 64

When the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) was recently building a new, multistory complex in downtown Kansas City, the work site was probably inspected for hazardous conditions by personnel from the

A)National Transportation Safety Board.
B)National Labor Safety Board.
C)National Fire Safety Training School.
D)Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
E)Federal Communications Commission.

Question 65

There are three forms of performance feedback interviews. In the tell-and-sell approach, the

A)employee tells his superior how he thinks he has performed and tries to sell the superior on how great he is.
B)employee listens as the superior tells him how bad his performance over the past year has been, and then the superior attempts to get him to agree to leave the company.
C)superior tells the employee what his perception of the employee's performance has been, and then the employee tries to sell him on his view of his own performance.
D)superior tells the employee how great his performance has been, and then the superior tries to sell him on accepting a position in another department of the company.
E)superior tells the employee how good or bad the employee's performance has been and then attempts to persuade the employee to accept this evaluation.

Question 66

Chevron's 60,000 employees work for thirteen major operating companies in fifty eight countries. Each national unit does business according to the needs of its market. Effective management of human resources in such a complex environment is an awesome task, and the key to success is reliable, accurate management information. Thus, Chevron developed an online human resources information system, which is a critical tool in managing its human resources. As expected, one of the broad goals of the human resources information system is to help management

A)prepare specific job or position descriptions.
B)write a job specification for the computer programmer.
C)develop a replacement chart.
D)send greetings to employees on their birthdays.
E)utilize human resources efficiently to meet organizational goals.

Question 67

When United Parcel Service (UPS) is looking for crews to fly its giant 747 cargo aircraft, it wants to hire the very best people to whom to entrust its extremely expensive equipment. Therefore, it looks for

A)only applicants from internal sources.
B)only applicants from external sources.
C)only pilots laid off from passenger carriers.
D)many more applicants than there are positions to be filled.
E)a very small number of applicants to reduce the time and costs required to examine the complex credentials of a larger number of applicants.

Question 68

Leading Lady, a manufacturer of maternity wear, maintains a database of information that records the various skills and abilities of its employees. This database can be referred to as a

A)replacement record.
B)skill appraisal system.
C)skills inventory.
D)skills database.
E)replacement chart.

Question 69

Employment applications are used for two purposes: to familiarize interviewers with applicants' backgrounds and to

A)assess their aptitudes, skills, and abilities.
B)identify applicants who are worthy of further scrutiny.
C)get a better indication of applicants' communication skills-both written and verbal.
D)determine whether they want to select the applicants for hire.
E)find out if applicants know anyone who currently works at the company.

Question 70

The policies and strategies pertaining to employee compensation comprise a

A)performance appraisal.
B)profit-sharing system.
C)compensation system.
D)wage survey.
E)job evaluation.

Question 71

Blowfish Fisheries is considering hiring Hispanics to ensure the success of its newest products, blowfish enchiladas. The company expects that the additional cultural viewpoints will provide it with

A)cost advantages.
B)a marketing edge.
C)minority recruitment advantage.
D)cultural diversity.
E)a human resource advantage.

Question 72

Whether or not secretaries are paid more than file clerks depends on the nature of a firm's ____ structure.

A)promotion
B)wage
C)organizational
D)evaluation
E)profit-sharing

Question 73

A specific amount of money paid for each hour of work is called

A)salary.
B)wage.
C)benefits.
D)bonus.
E)compensation.

Question 74

Legislation regarding HRM practices has been passed mainly to

A)promote job safety and to protect the rights of employers.
B)benefit politicians by decreasing unemployment, thus making them look good.
C)put small businesses that cannot afford to follow all the guidelines and policies set forth by government out of work.
D)ensure that men and women are paid equally for equal work.
E)protect the rights of employees, promote job safety, and eliminate discrimination in the workplace.

Question 75

Suppose DynaScan, makers of LED-based digital signage, found that women could assemble more signage parts than men during a shift. Therefore, women would be paid a higher weekly salary than men. This would be legal because

A)there is a difference in gender of the workers.
B)there is a difference in performance.
C)telephone assembly falls into a protected category under the Federal Communications Act of 1933.
D)the women are paid more than the men rather than the other way around.
E)none of the above; this is illegal under the Equal Pay Act.

Question 76

Activities that increase employee satisfaction such as satisfaction surveys, employee communication programs, exit interviews, and fair treatment are all part of which phase of the human resources management process?

A)Benefits and compensation
B)Job analysis
C)Developing human resources
D)Maintaining human resources
E)Acquiring human resources

Question 77

Martin Enterprises wants to ensure that it thoroughly understands all of its jobs so that it can determine the qualifications each job demands. To do so, Martin would first

A)draft job descriptions.
B)write job specifications.
C)conduct job analysis.
D)set up job orientations.
E)prepare a skills inventory.

Question 78

For the past ten years, Savco has obtained its best employees from private employment agencies. Now that it has three additional jobs to fill, it will probably continue to use

A)a skills inventory.
B)external recruiting.
C)internal recruiting.
D)vestibule selection.
E)external replacement.

Question 79

Under ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation. Which of the following is an example of reasonable accommodation?

A)Company-provided lodging for the disabled
B)Company-provided transportation for the blind
C)Additional paid vacation for the mentally ill
D)Sign language interpreters for the deaf
E)Personal assistants for the disabled

Question 80

Employee compensation systems are generally developed and administered by ____, and pay increases and promotions are usually recommended by ____.

A)top management; HRM specialists
B)unions; line managers
C)HRM specialists; line managers
D)top management; unions
E)professional HR consultants; HRM staff personnel