Deck 12: Managing Human Resources

Question 1

Which of the following is true of high-performance work practices?

A)It is easier to implement in organizations with centralized structures.
B)It involves well-structured job responsibilities as opposed to flexible assignments.
C)In spite of its many benefits,research indicates that there is no direct link between high-performance work practices and a firm's market value.
D)It encourages extensive employee involvement and greater employee control on decision making.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following Acts prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disabilities?

A)Vocational Rehabilitation Act
B)Civil Rights Act,Title VII
C)Equal Pay Act
D)Occupational Safety and Health Act

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following steps in human resource management helps retain competent and high-performing employees?

A)orientation
B)selecting
C)performance management
D)training

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When Fletcher lost his job as a result of a downsizing,his health coverage was discontinued even though he was willing to pay for it.Which of the following Acts can Fletcher cite in his efforts to have his health coverage benefits restored?

A)Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
B)Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
C)Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
D)Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Question 5

________ are groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions involving personnel.

A)Labor unions
B)Advisory boards
C)Work councils
D)Board representatives

Question 6

During an economic recession,________.

A)human resources managers find it more difficult to replace employees
B)more qualified candidates are available to fill fewer open positions
C)candidates face less competition for open positions
D)candidates expect better benefits and pensions

Question 7

Which of the following Acts requires continued health coverage following termination of an employee?

A)Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
B)Occupational Safety and Health Act
C)Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
D)Family and Medical Leave Act

Question 8

The two most common forms of representative participation are ________.

A)board representatives and cross-functional teams
B)task forces and cross-functional teams
C)work councils and board representatives
D)work councils and cross-functional teams

Question 9

Which of the following Acts gives employees the legal right to examine personnel files and letters of reference?

A)Civil Rights Act,Title VII
B)Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
C)Privacy Act
D)Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act

Question 10

Which of the following is true of the government legislations related to human resource management in different countries?

A)Canadian laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of language in all parts of the country except Quebec.
B)Australian anti-discrimination laws were passed before those in the United States.
C)Under Mexican law,managers must review new employees' performance after 60 days.
D)Unlike the rest of Europe,legislation in Germany does not require companies to practice representative participation.

Question 11

John received a raise as a result of his last performance appraisal.He is active on three teams and is given authority to make decisions regarding his job responsibilities.John's employer is using ________.

A)realistic job previews
B)human resource planning
C)high performance recruiting practices
D)high-performance work practices

Question 12

The final three activities of the human resource management process ensure ________.

A)that the organization retains competent and high-performing employees
B)that the organization selects and trains competent employees
C)the best compensation packages for the new hires
D)that employees are continuously provided with up-to-date knowledge and skills

Question 13

Steve introduces in-house technical training programs for employees,as well as a provision to reimburse the tuition fees for employees who take college courses that benefit both the employee and the organization.Steve is using ________ to motivate and retain employees.

A)performance appraisal methods
B)high-performance work practices
C)mentoring
D)affirmative action

Question 14

The first three activities of the human resource management process involve ________.

A)providing employees with flexible job assignments
B)identifying and selecting competent employees
C)providing employees with up-to-date knowledge and skills
D)retaining competent and high-performing employees

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of a high-performance work practice?

A)clearly defined job assignments
B)centralized decision making
C)skill-based compensation
D)self-managed teams

Question 16

________ is an example of a high-performance work practice.

A)Increasing employee access to information
B)Selective decruitment
C)Skill-based compensation
D)Detailed job descriptions

Question 17

The essence of affirmative action is to ________.

A)provide positive reinforcements to encourage desirable behavior
B)prevent employees from behaving unethically
C)prevent discrimination and enhance the status of members from protected groups
D)provide experiential exercises and on-the-job coaching for employees

Question 18

Helmut works for an optical engineering company.He is one of several employees that management must consult when it is considering a major layoff.Helmut is a member of ________.

A)an employee council
B)a work council
C)a labor union
D)a bargaining committee

Question 19

Labor unions use ________ to protect the rights of their members.

A)work stops
B)commercial arbitration
C)collective bargaining
D)labor disputes

Question 20

Which of the following steps in the human resource management process identifies and selects competent employees?

A)orientation and training
B)human resource planning and recruitment
C)compensation and benefits
D)planning and performance management

Question 21

A ________ states the minimum qualifications that a person must possess to successfully perform a given job.

A)job description
B)job preview
C)job analysis
D)job specification

Question 22

High-performance work practices are those that lead to both high individual and high organizational performance.

Question 23

The first phase of the human resource management process involves ________.

A)human resource planning,compensation,and benefits
B)human resource planning,selection,and performance management
C)human resource planning,recruitment and decruitment,and selection
D)human resource planning,recruitment and decruitment,and orientation

Question 24

The Civil Rights Act,Title VII,prohibits discrimination of employees who are above 40 years of age.

Question 25

________ as a source of recruitment is limited to entry-level positions.

A)Employee referrals
B)The Internet
C)College recruiting
D)Professional recruiting organizations

Question 26

An organization that wants to have high-performance work practices should discourage self-managed teams and decentralized decision making.

Question 27

A written statement that explains the job content,environment,and conditions of employment is called a ________.

A)job specification
B)job preview
C)job manual
D)job description

Question 28

Explain why human resource management (HRM)is important to organizational success.

Question 29

Which of the following is a trend that will affect HRM practices in the future?

A)Asians will represent 24% of the workforce.
B)Working women will represent a shrinking segment of the workforce.
C)Baby boomers will represent the largest segment of the workforce.
D)Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce.

Question 30

In the United States,labor unions represent the most significant environmental constraint.

Question 31

Sam,a human resources manager,wants to let potential candidates know about the minimum qualifications that they should possess in order to successfully perform the jobs they have applied for.What should he do?

A)He should create a job description.
B)He should create a job specification.
C)He should perform a job analysis.
D)He should perform a job satisfaction survey.

Question 32

High-performance work practices involve a commitment by management to improve the knowledge,skills,and abilities of the organization's employees,increasing employee motivation,and enhancing the retention of quality employees.

Question 33

A labor union is an organization that represents workers and seeks to protect their interests.

Question 34

Explain high-performance work practices and list a few examples of such practices.

Question 35

Recruitment is the process of ________.

A)moving employees laterally to reduce intra-organizational supply-demand imbalances
B)locating,identifying,and attracting capable applicants
C)screening job applicants to determine who is the best
D)selecting candidates to fill open positions

Question 36

If human resource planning shows a surplus of employees,management can reduce the organization's workforce through ________.

A)recruitment
B)decruitment
C)increased workweeks
D)reduced job sharing

Question 37

Managers begin human resource planning by ________.

A)locating capable applicants
B)inventorying current employees
C)job analysis
D)forecasting sales

Question 38

An assessment that defines jobs and the behaviors necessary to perform them is known as a ________.

A)job description
B)job specification
C)job preview
D)job analysis

Question 39

Affirmative action programs help ensure that decisions and practices enhance the employment,upgrading,and retention of members from protected groups such as minorities and females.

Question 40

The process by which managers ensure that they have the right number and kinds of capable people in the right places and at the right times is known as ________.

A)human capital management
B)performance management
C)performance planning
D)human resource planning

Question 41

Assessment centers are best used to select ________.

A)senior management
B)semiskilled workers
C)employees for entry-level positions
D)unskilled workers

Question 42

Application forms ________.

A)are most useful for gathering information
B)include personality and interest forms
C)use actual job behaviors
D)are not used for managerial positions

Question 43

A ________ selection device is characterized by a proven relationship between the selection device and some relevant job selection criterion.

A)subjective
B)objective
C)reliable
D)valid

Question 44

If Victoria asks some employees to share jobs or perform their jobs on a part-time basis,she would be ________.

A)firing employees.
B)encouraging layoffs
C)reducing the workweeks
D)encouraging early retirements

Question 45

In her next meeting with the senior management,Jane suggests that they should ignore the openings created by voluntary resignations and not hire any more people now.This would avoid much of the pain associated with workforce reduction in future.This implies that Jane favors ________.

A)transfers
B)attrition
C)layoffs
D)reduced workweeks

Question 46

Joan needs to eliminate some employees for a short while.She and her managers identify those employees who are not meeting performance expectations and explain that this termination is temporary but they are encouraged to seek other positions elsewhere.How is Jane trying to reduce the size of the workforce here?

A)firing
B)layoffs
C)reduced workweeks
D)early retirements

Question 47

Errors made by eliminating candidates who would have performed successfully on the job are known as ________.

A)admission errors
B)reject errors
C)accept errors
D)omission errors

Question 48

When Beverly administers the math test to accounting clerk candidates,the average score is 65%.But when Carol administers the same test,the score average is 83%.What does this indicate about the test?

A)The test is valid.
B)The test is unreliable.
C)The test is poorly constructed.
D)The test is reliable

Question 49

All candidates for entry level engineering positions are given the mechanical aptitude test.Those who scored well and were hired later earned high scores on their performance evaluations.Those who scored less well and were hired earned lower scores on performance evaluations.This indicates that the test is ________.

A)valid
B)invalid
C)reliable
D)unreliable

Question 50

Elizabeth was hired as a customer care executive by a telecommunication provider during a period when they were extremely short-staffed.Her employers soon realized that she was impatient,easily irritated,and lacked motivation.They even began to receive complaints about her behavior from angry customers.In hiring Elizabeth,her employers were guilty of a(n)________.

A)admission error
B)reject error
C)accept error
D)omission error

Question 51

Turnover is high among new hires at Stewart's company.At one exit interview,Stewart asked the departing new hire why she was leaving so soon.Which of the following statements is the most likely response?

A)The company has a strong labor union so the majority of the decisions are dictated by collective bargaining.
B)There is a recession in the economy that has severely affected employment levels across the country.
C)The higher level employees repeatedly overemphasize the company's positive points while interviewing candidates.
D)The company does not have good decruitment policies in place.

Question 52

Gareth is in charge of recruiting at Eowin Systems,and is expected to enhance the diversity of the workforce.Which of the following recruiting sources should Gareth avoid if he is to achieve the stated aim of a more diverse workforce?

A)college recruiting
B)company Web site
C)employee referrals
D)professional recruiting organizations

Question 53

Which of the following is true of written tests as a selection tool?

A)They are not very popular anymore.
B)They are relatively good predictors for supervisory positions.
C)They cannot predict job performances.
D)They are almost universally used.

Question 54

A disadvantage of using professional recruiting organizations is ________.

A)that they generate many unqualified candidates
B)their limited commitment to specific companies
C)that they can only be used for entry-level positions
D)that they do not increase the diversity and mix of employees

Question 55

In which of the following decruitment methods does an organization refrain from filling the openings created by voluntary resignations or normal retirements of its employees?

A)firing
B)layoffs
C)attrition
D)transfers

Question 56

A ________ includes both positive and negative aspects about the job and the company.

A)structured interview
B)job analysis
C)realistic job preview
D)behavioral preview

Question 57

Tim is a candidate for an automotive mechanic's position.He is asked to deconstruct and reconstruct part of an engine motor to demonstrate his skill.This is an example of a(n)________.

A)aptitude test
B)performance-simulation test
C)intelligence test
D)psychometric test

Question 58

________ involves predicting which applicants will be successful if hired.

A)Selection
B)Recruitment
C)Orientation
D)Decruitment

Question 59

________ are a temporary involuntary termination that can last from a few weeks to several years.

A)Layoffs
B)Attritions
C)Discharges
D)Retirements

Question 60

A ________ selection device indicates that the device measures the same thing consistently.

A)subjective
B)potent
C)reliable
D)valid

Question 61

In which of the following traditional training methods do employees work with an experienced worker who provides information,support,and encouragement?

A)job rotation
B)experiential exercises
C)mentoring and coaching
D)on-the-job training

Question 62

________ is an Internet-based learning where employees participate in multimedia simulations or other interactive modules.

A)Podcasts
B)E-learning
C)Mobile learning
D)Videoconferencing

Question 63

Larry is in charge of recruitment for entry-level positions at Merlin Infosystems.He believes that job interviews should include a realistic job preview.Which of the following is Larry likely to do during job interviews?

A)explain all the positive points,including the flexible nature of work
B)over-embellish the growth opportunities for employees
C)promise a vibrant,fun work culture at the office
D)tell the employee about possible overtime

Question 64

Human resource planning entails two steps: assessing current human resources and meeting future human resource needs.

Question 65

Which of the following is a technology-based training method?

A)classroom lectures
B)experiential exercises
C)videoconferencing/teleconferencing
D)workbooks/manuals

Question 66

One disadvantage of employee referrals as a source of job candidates is that it generates unqualified candidates.

Question 67

In which of the following traditional training methods are employees made to work at different jobs in a particular area in order to get exposure to a variety of tasks?

A)training by job rotation
B)on-the-job training
C)mentoring
D)coaching

Question 68

Giving negative information about the organization to prospective candidates is not a good idea because it puts the company in bad light.

Question 69

Define decruitment and list the various decruitment options.

Question 70

Recruitment is defined as the process of screening job applicants to determine who is best qualified for the job.

Question 71

The two types of orientations are ________.

A)job orientation and procedural orientation
B)work unit orientation and organization orientation
C)work unit orientation and group orientation
D)organization orientation and group orientation

Question 72

Which of the following is a type of general training provided by organizations?

A)customer service
B)basic life-work skills
C)managing change
D)customer education

Question 73

________ is the process of introducing a new employee to his/her job and the organization.

A)Orientation
B)Selection
C)Staffing
D)Communicating

Question 74

Job descriptions focus on the job,while job specifications focus on the person.

Question 75

In a short essay,define selection and list some of the selection tools used by managers.

Question 76

There are only two ways of controlling labor supply through decruitment: firing and early retirements.

Question 77

Which of the following training methods involves employees participating in role playing,simulations,or other face-to-face types of training?

A)experiential exercises
B)job rotation
C)mentoring and coaching
D)on-the-job training

Question 78

Which of the following is a type of specific training provided by organizations?

A)technological skills
B)team building skills
C)supervisory skills
D)communication skills

Question 79

The burden is on managers to prove that the selection devices they use are a valid predictor of job performance.

Question 80

Write a short essay on human resource planning.