Deck 17: Human Resource Policies and Practices

Question 1

Precipice Corp. is opening a new branch in Houston and the HR team is debating the various methods of generating job candidates. The HR team feels that using employee referrals may generate unqualified or substandard candidates because employees will be biased in favor of their recommendations. Which of the following facts, if true, weakens the HR team's belief?

A) Precipice Corp. has 12 branches in the state of Texas with a constantly increasing market share.
B) The majority of the company employees have only a basic level of education.
C) Employees tend to recommend individuals who they believe will do well because referrals put employees' own reputations on the line.
D) Their personal relationship with the recommended candidate allows employees to convince the individual about the benefits of working for the company.
E) Employees hired through recruitment agencies, have been known to be more productive in the past than candidates referred by employees.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Elaborate sets of performance-simulation tests, specifically designed to evaluate a candidate's managerial potential, are ________.

A) less effective than work sampling
B) administered in assessment centers
C) similar to personality tests
D) considered drawbacks of some management development programs
E) likely to skew the results of behavioral samples

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A work-sample test is most likely to be used for hiring a ________.

A) software programmer
B) carpenter
C) senior manager
D) doctor
E) lawyer

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The behavioral structured interview is built on the assumption that ________.

A) past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior
B) technical knowledge and skills are the best predictor of job performance
C) personality is the best predictor of job performance
D) personality and mood are highly correlated
E) technical knowledge and job performance are highly correlated

Question 5

Between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s, the use of written tests declined because they were characterized as ________.

A) unprofessional
B) discriminatory
C) unreliable
D) invalid
E) mathematically flawed

Question 6

Stefan is looking for a job. Today he went to the Web site of Qriosity Inc., where he filled out an online application and attached a copy of his resume. In which part of the selection process is Stefan?

A) physical selection
B) job offer
C) initial selection
D) contingent selection
E) substantive selection

Question 7

Assessment centers are typically used to evaluate a candidate's ________ potential.

A) linguistic
B) technical
C) cognitive
D) managerial
E) analytical

Question 8

Applicants describe how they handled specific problems and situations in previous jobs in a(n) ________ interview.

A) behavioral structured
B) audition-type
C) performance-simulation
D) problem-solving
E) reflection

Question 9

Which of the following is most likely to be used for preliminary "rough cuts" to decide whether an applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job?

A) drug test
B) application form
C) HR interview
D) written test
E) technical interview

Question 10

Which of the following is most likely to be used by Scarlett during the initial selection stage to check if an applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job?

A) assessment center
B) drug test
C) application form
D) work-sample test
E) integrity test

Question 11

Scarlett has received authorization to add an assistant manager to her department. This person will be working closely with Scarlett and must have excellent interpersonal as well as technical skills. Scarlett wants to make certain that she maximizes the chance of choosing the correct individual and is trying to decide on the most appropriate selection device.
Scarlett is considering administering written integrity tests to management candidates that pass the initial screening. These tests will most likely help Scarlett to predict a candidate's ________.

A) propensity to react calmly under stress
B) degree of positive self-concept
C) spatial and mechanical abilities
D) likelihood of posing discipline problems
E) degree of attention to detail

Question 12

Which of the following have/has proven to be a particularly good predictor for jobs that include cognitively complex tasks?

A) intelligence tests
B) integrity evaluations
C) work sampling
D) drug tests
E) behavioral assessment

Question 13

Which of the following is most likely to be an initial selection device?

A) technical interview
B) drug test
C) written test
D) background check
E) work-sample test

Question 14

Which of the following tends to have a disproportionate amount of influence on employee selection decisions?

A) interview
B) written test
C) performance-simulation test
D) work sampling method
E) personality test

Question 15

Which of the following is a form of background check?

A) aptitude test
B) offer letter
C) letters of recommendation
D) application form
E) work-sample test

Question 16

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding behavioral structured interviews?

A) They are most useful when interviewing knowledge workers.
B) They increase an interviewer's reliance on his or her "gut feelings."
C) They are conducted in a similar manner as audition-type interviews.
D) They are useful only for interviewing non-skilled workers.
E) They increase the effectiveness of the interview technique.

Question 17

During a selection process, the ________ selection stage immediately follows the initial selection stage.

A) cognitive
B) associative
C) analytic
D) behavioral
E) substantive

Question 18

In order to assess the management skills of the applicants, Scarlet should ________.

A) use an assessment center
B) verify the applicants' job histories
C) conduct a medical test
D) conduct a drug test
E) conduct a behavioral assessment test

Question 19

Written tests are used during the ________ stage of the selection process.

A) cognitive
B) associative
C) analytic
D) substantive
E) initial

Question 20

Performance-simulation tests have higher ________, which measures whether applicants perceive the measures to be accurate.

A) nominal validity
B) nominal reasonability
C) face cognitivity
D) face validity
E) face legitimacy

Question 21

________ training involves employees helping each other out at the workplace in an unplanned and unstructured environment.

A) Formal
B) Ethics
C) Interpersonal
D) Informal
E) Classroom

Question 22

By training employees on how to be better listeners, organizations attempt to improve their ________ skills.

A) ethical
B) technical
C) problem-solving
D) interpersonal
E) cultural

Question 23

________ refers to actions that contribute to the psychological environment of the organization, such as helping others when not required.

A) Citizenship
B) Counterproductivity
C) Satisficing
D) Social loafing
E) Groupthink

Question 24

Due to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, job applicants ________.

A) can be subjected to a drug test only if they are being considered for senior-level management positions
B) are never required to submit to a physical exam for a job
C) cannot be subjected to a work-sample test after a contingent job offer
D) cannot be subjected to behavioral assessment tests before a contingent offer
E) may be required to undergo a medical examination after they receive a contingent offer

Question 25

Which of the following is most likely to be the fastest growing training medium?

A) job rotation
B) live classroom lectures
C) apprenticeships
D) formal mentoring program
E) e-training

Question 26

Sirius Corp, an automobile manufacturer from Texas, has a number of vacancies at lower management levels and wants to fill the positions from within the company itself rather than recruit externally. The company plans to e-mail the job specifications to all employees and post the jobs on the company Web site.
Which of the following, if true, will strengthen the company's decision?

A) The majority of the company employees have only a basic level of education.
B) The company recently instituted a technical skills improvement program for shop floor employees.
C) A top recruitment agency recently sent the company details of prospective college candidates.
D) Several top performing entry level employees have received offers from rival companies.
E) A majority of the company's employees are reaching the age of retirement.

Question 27

Lewis is a sales representative for his company. He is attending a company training program about the types of expenses that are considered legal deductions for tax purposes, and how to distinguish between personal expenses and business expenses. Lewis is attending training to improve his ________ skills.

A) literacy
B) problem-solving
C) interpersonal
D) ethical
E) technical

Question 28

Dunder Mifflin Inc. is considering implementing employee ethics training programs. Some members of senior management are opposed to these programs. Their opposition is most likely based on which of the following beliefs?

A) Ethics training is very expensive.
B) Ethics change from country to country.
C) Individual value systems are fixed at an early age.
D) Integrity cannot be taught by example.
E) Ethics training does not help employees to recognize ethical dilemmas.

Question 29

Which of the following is a common contingent selection method?

A) IQ test
B) interview
C) interest inventory
D) drug test
E) work-sample test

Question 30

Which of the following statements is true concerning international selection practices?

A) Structured interviews are popular in all countries.
B) Beliefs about how one should conduct an interpersonal interview are consistent across countries.
C) The use of educational qualifications in screening candidates seems to be a universal practice.
D) Employee selection policies and practices do not require modification from one country to another.
E) Individuals are typically much more effective at selecting candidates than groups.

Question 31

Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee's ________ skills.

A) financial
B) technical
C) problem-solving
D) interpersonal
E) social

Question 32

Which of the following is an on-the-job training method?

A) live classroom lectures
B) apprenticeships
C) public seminars
D) podcasts
E) self-study programs

Question 33

Drug testing is controversial. Which of the following is an argument used against drug testing?

A) The results of drug tests can be faked easily.
B) Drug use is a private matter.
C) Drug tests are costly.
D) Drug tests are generally inaccurate.
E) Drug tests are injurious to a person's health.

Question 34

You are involved in training and development for your division at Dunder Mifflin Inc. You want to target some specific organizational problems through training.
Your organization has reduced layers, flattening the organization. Your employees now need to perform a wider variety of tasks. As a result, you need to provide employees with training to help develop their ________ skills.

A) basic literacy
B) technical
C) interpersonal
D) problem solving
E) communication

Question 35

Which of the following is an off-the-job training method?

A) job rotation
B) formal mentoring programs
C) Internet courses
D) job enlargement
E) apprenticeship

Question 36

Researchers now recognize three major types of behavior that constitute performance at work. Which of the following are these three major types of behavior?

A) task performance, productivity, tenure
B) productivity, efficiency, absenteeism
C) task performance, citizenship, counterproductivity
D) citizenship, counterproductivity, personality
E) leadership, knowledge, efficiency

Question 37

You have just been appointed as director of your company's corporate training division. The CEO of your company has been displeased with your company's prior training programs, so you are tasked with rehauling the entire training division. You convene a meeting of all training division managers to decide on the types of training that the division will implement. One of your managers is a firm supporter of e-training programs for employees in your company's international offices. He touts the benefits of e-programs by stressing that ________.

A) e-training approaches have been proven to result in higher levels of knowledge assimilation
B) e-training is highly flexible and employees can complete the training at their convenience
C) many employees find solitary learning to be highly motivating
D) online learners are less susceptible to distractions
E) e-programs are inexpensive to design and implement

Question 38

You are involved in training and development for your division at Dunder Mifflin Inc. You want to target some specific organizational problems through training.
Your organization is situated in an urban area where many students do not finish high school. You will probably first have to address the skill category termed ________ skills.

A) basic literacy
B) technical
C) interpersonal
D) problem-solving
E) managerial

Question 39

You are involved in training and development for your division at Dunder Mifflin Inc. You want to target some specific organizational problems through training.
You are introducing self-managed teams and implementing quality-management programs. It would be important to conduct training in ________ skills.

A) basic literacy
B) technical
C) interpersonal
D) problem-solving
E) interdependence

Question 40

Treating co-workers with respect, making constructive suggestions, and saying positive things about the workplace are a part of the ________ behavior that constitutes performance at work.

A) citizenship
B) counterproductivity
C) social loafing
D) deviant workplace
E) satisficing

Question 41

The approach to evaluation that uses feedback from those who have daily contact with an employee (everyone from mailroom personnel to customers to bosses to peers) is termed ________.

A) critical incidents
B) 360-degree evaluation
C) assessment center
D) multiperson comparisons
E) downward evaluation

Question 42

Which of the following is a forced comparison method of performance evaluation?

A) written essays
B) trait evaluations
C) group order ranking
D) critical incident method
E) graphic rating scales

Question 43

Companies in which of the following countries would emphasize formal performance evaluation systems more than informal systems?

A) Argentina
B) United States
C) Chile
D) India
E) China

Question 44

Which performance evaluation method requires no complex forms or extensive training to complete?

A) written essays
B) critical incidents
C) graphic rating scales
D) behaviorally anchored rating scales
E) assessment center rating

Question 45

Which approach to performance evaluation rank-orders employees from best to worst?

A) individual ranking
B) group order ranking
C) paired comparison
D) straight ranking
E) associative ranking

Question 46

________ involves evaluating one's performance against the performance of one or more others.

A) BARS
B) The critical incident method
C) An assessment center evaluation
D) Forced comparison
E) Likert analysis

Question 47

If a manager uses critical incidents as a method of performance evaluation, then ________.

A) the employees generally receive poor ratings
B) the evaluator's writing skills become the determining factor of the evaluation
C) the employees are more likely to become motivated to achieve their goals
D) the focus of the evaluation will center on key behaviors
E) the cost of the evaluation is likely to be incredibly high for the organization

Question 48

The concept of ________ can be applied to appraisals to increase the perception that employees are treated fairly.

A) selective evaluation
B) due process
C) multiple raters
D) selective retention
E) counterproductivity

Question 49

Jeeves Consulting requires a performance evaluation method that is less time consuming to develop and administer and allows for quantitative analysis and comparison. An appropriate evaluation technique for Jeeves Consulting would be ________.

A) written essays
B) trait evaluations
C) forced comparisons
D) 360-degree evaluations
E) graphic rating scales

Question 50

Which of the following methods of performance evaluation allows for quantitative analysis and comparison?

A) critical incident
B) graphic rating scale
C) assessment center evaluation
D) written essay
E) group order ranking

Question 51

When an appraiser rates employees based on items on a continuum with the points reflecting actual behaviors on a given job, this type of evaluation is called ________.

A) BARS
B) critical incident
C) graphic rating scale
D) group order ranking
E) assessment center evaluation

Question 52

Which of the following performance evaluation methods is often used in recommending students to graduate schools?

A) written essays
B) critical incident analysis
C) BARS
D) group order ranking
E) graphic rating scales

Question 53

Which of the following is the least predictive set of criteria used to evaluate employees?

A) traits
B) task outcomes
C) behaviors
D) personality
E) technical skills

Question 54

Performance evaluations are used to ________.

A) improve group cohesiveness
B) define departmental structure
C) help management make HR decisions
D) identify how jobs are completed
E) decrease conformity within organizations

Question 55

Formal performance appraisals are used more frequently in countries that ________.

A) value status quo and rigidity
B) are low in assertiveness
C) are low in uncertainty avoidance
D) are low in in-group collectivism
E) have long-term orientation

Question 56

Marcel hates the annual review process he has to do for the employees in his department. Although he is fully aware of some of his employees' faults, he is reluctant to discuss them in person, and is only comfortable writing them in an unsigned report that his supervisor will review. Marcel's behavior demonstrates ________.

A) provision of due process
B) inflated assessment of employee performance
C) organizational citizenship behavior
D) managerial sincerity
E) fear of confrontation

Question 57

Which of the following evaluation methods focuses the evaluator's attention on those behaviors that are key to executing a job effectively?

A) forced comparison
B) critical incident
C) graphic rating scale
D) behaviorally anchored rating scale
E) written essay

Question 58

________ ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth.

A) Individual
B) Group order
C) Paired
D) Fractional
E) Percentile

Question 59

Sirius Corp, an automobile manufacturer from Texas, has a number of vacancies at lower management levels and wants to fill the positions from within the company itself rather than recruit externally. The company plans to e-mail the job specifications to all employees and post the jobs on the company Web site.
Which of the following, if true, will weaken the company's decision?

A) The majority of the company's employees have only a basic level of education.
B) The company recently instituted a technical skills improvement program for shop floor employees.
C) The existing shop floor employees have high potential and personal ambition to rise in their careers.
D) Sirius Corp. just opened a new manufacturing facility in New Mexico.
E) Several top performing entry level employees have received offers from rival companies.

Question 60

Sirius Corp, an automobile manufacturer from Texas, has a number of vacancies at lower management levels and wants to fill the positions from within the company itself rather than recruit externally. The company plans to e-mail the job specifications to all employees and post the jobs on the company Web site.
Which of the following terms refers to the actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward co-workers, or being late or absent?

A) citizenship
B) counterproductivity
C) task orientation
D) satisficing
E) groupthink

Question 61

Which of the following work-life initiatives is a direct service?

A) elder care resources
B) adoption assistance
C) job sharing
D) direct financial assistance
E) onsite child care

Question 62

Performance evaluations identify training and development needs.

Question 63

Work-life conflicts became noticeable in the 1980s when ________.

A) the rate of inflation started increasing
B) baby boomers' parents began to age
C) men started giving more importance to family time
D) work loads became historically heavier
E) women, with dependent children, started entering the workforce

Question 64

At Chauvin Corp., only one among the twenty-five senior executives in the firm is a woman and only four among the fifty junior executives are women. Hence, the company was recently charged on grounds of sexual discrimination in the workplace by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Which of the following, if true, could help Chauvin Corp. defend itself against the charges?

A) Male and female executives at the same level have the same qualifications.
B) The company pays equal salaries to both its male and female employees in the same position.
C) Ten times more men than women applied for jobs with the company.
D) The work pressures and long hours make jobs with the company unattractive to married women.
E) All job applicants who were rejected had fewer qualifications than those accepted.

Question 65

The most popular off-the-job training method is live classroom lectures.

Question 66

Substantive selection methods are the heart of the selection process and include written tests, performance tests, and interviews.

Question 67

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, firms cannot require employees to pass a medical exam before or after a job offer is made.

Question 68

Performance-simulation tests have lower face validity (which measures whether applicants perceive the measures to be accurate) than written tests.

Question 69

Which of the following is one of the techniques used by organizations to make their workplace more family-friendly?

A) telecommuting
B) job enlargement
C) classroom training
D) mentoring programme
E) job rotation

Question 70

Letters of recommendation are a form of background check.

Question 71

Biozone provides its employees career counseling, skills workshops, and networking sessions. This work-life initiative used by Biozone falls under the category of ________.

A) direct services
B) time based strategies
C) information based strategies
D) money-based strategies
E) culture-change strategies

Question 72

The goal of initial selection is to determine the most qualified applicants from among those who meet basic qualifications.

Question 73

Technical training has become increasingly important because of changes in organizational design.

Question 74

A test that measures factors such as dependability, carefulness, responsibility, and honesty is referred to as a task variability test.

Question 75

The government passes a new law requiring all companies to offer employees unpaid time off to care for their children. This would harm the economic competitiveness of the nation's businesses as companies must be free to set their own employment policies without mandated parental-leave regulations. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument?

A) A parental-leave law will serve to strengthen the family as a social institution in this country.
B) Most businesses in the country already offer employees some form of parental leave.
C) Some of the countries with the most economically competitive businesses have strong parental-leave regulations.
D) The proposed parental-leave law does not apply to small-scale industries.
E) In most polls, a majority of citizens say they favor passage of a parental-leave law.

Question 76

Most formal training involves employees simply helping each other out.

Question 77

A formal mentoring program is an example of an off-the-job training method.

Question 78

Ozu Tech offers employees 4 unpaid weeks sabbatical, or 3 to 6 partially paid weeks off for family-related reasons. This work-life initiative offered by Ozu Tech is a type of ________.

A) time based strategy
B) information based strategy
C) money-based strategy
D) direct service
E) culture-change strategy

Question 79

In assessment centers, candidates are evaluated as they go through several days of exercises that simulate real problems they would confront on the job.

Question 80

Which of the following work-life initiatives is an example of a culture-change strategy?

A) offering flexible benefits
B) tying manager pay to employee satisfaction
C) allowing job sharing
D) providing fitness center
E) providing counselling services