Deck 9: Employee Development and Career Management

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true about the differences between training and development?

A) Training is future-oriented, while development focuses more on present issues.
B) Training focuses on preparing employees for current jobs, but development prepares them for other positions.
C) Use of work experiences is greater in training than it is in development.
D) Employee participation in training is voluntary but not with development.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

________ gives employees a series of job assignments in various functional areas of the company.

A) Job rotation
B) Job enlargement
C) Onboarding
D) Externship

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What approach to career management is entirely employee-driven? In this approach, companies focus on finding the best talent from outside of the organization.

A) structured
B) flexible
C) open
D) transitory

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The ________ is a personality assessment tool used for team building and leadership development that identifies employees' preferences for energy, information gathering, and decision making.

A) The Wonderlic Personnel Test
B) Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
C) The NEO
D) 360-degree feedback

Question 5

Which of the following is not measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI)?

A) Extraversion v. introversion
B) Emotional stability v. neuroticism
C) Thinking v. feeling
D) Sensing v. intuition

Question 6

Which of the following developmental experiences is the most common in organizations?

A) coaching
B) mentoring
C) job rotation
D) high-visibility assignments

Question 7

Job enlargement refers to the process of ________.

A) hiring more people for the same job category
B) moving employees up the organizational hierarchy
C) adding challenges or new responsibilities to an employee's current job
D) adding more jobs in a department to reduce stress

Question 8

A protean career is ________.

A) controlled by the availability of positions in a company
B) limited to achievements at work
C) based on the feeling of pride that comes from achieving life goals
D) primarily determined through signals the employee receives from the company

Question 9

________ refers to the use of information by employees to determine their career interests, values, and aptitudes.

A) Reality check
B) Goal setting
C) Self-assessment
D) Action planning

Question 10

In assessment centers, scheduling exercises typically evaluate ________.

A) leadership skills
B) problem-solving abilities
C) oral communication skills
D) psychomotor skills

Question 11

In the ________ stage of the career management process, employees receive information on how the company evaluates their skills and where they fit into the company's plans.

A) action-planning
B) self-assessment
C) goal-setting
D) reality-check

Question 12

Sending employees on international assignments is an example of a(n) ________ approach to employee development.

A) formal education
B) assessment
C) mentoring
D) job experience

Question 13

Which of the following is most commonly included in assessment centers?

A) leadership group discussions
B) behavioral modelling
C) succession planning
D) work-life balance workshops

Question 14

Which of the following is true of 360-degree feedback?

A) Managers' behaviors are evaluated only by subordinates.
B) It rarely produces anxiety.
C) A facilitator may be needed to help interpret the results.
D) The feedback is difficult to link to development plans.

Question 15

Which approach to career management prepares workers for moving through clearly defined career paths? Companies using this approach want a stable plan for leadership succession.

A) structured
B) flexible
C) planned
D) transitory

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a common limitation of 360-degree feedback?

A) The process is often too informal
B) Time demands placed on raters
C) Potential retaliation against raters
D) Failing to provide opportunities for employees to act on the feedback

Question 17

In upward feedback, managers' behaviors or skills are evaluated by ________.

A) their peers
B) their subordinates
C) external customers
D) b and c

Question 18

Which of the following activities is typically NOT included with an assessment center?

A) in-basket exercises
B) leaderless group discussions
C) role plays
D) succession planning
E) None of the above-all are typically included.

Question 19

Which of the following is not considered a best practice regarding 360-degree feedback systems?

A) The results from such feedback should be used to make compensation decisions.
B) Maintain rater confidentiality.
C) The system provides reliable ratings of competencies.
D) Employees receive timely feedback.

Question 20

An in-basket exercise is typically designed to measure ________.

A) psychomotor skills
B) administrative skills
C) conflict resolution skills
D) emotional intelligence

Question 21

Regarding the prevalence of developmental activities, classroom experiences tend to be more common in organizations relative to mentoring relationships.

Question 22

Performance appraisal discussions are more long-term than development discussions.

Question 23

The process of developing a succession plan typically begins with ________.

A) identifying the employees included in the succession plan
B) identifying the positions included in the succession plan
C) developing standards
D) determining ways to measure employee potential

Question 24

Competencies include knowledge, skills, and abilities but not personal characteristics.

Question 25

________ grant(s) a temporary leave of absence from the company.

A) Job enlargement
B) Apprenticeships
C) Sabbaticals
D) Job rotation

Question 26

A protean career is defined by a series of upward career transitions.

Question 27

In the nine-box grid, high-potential and high performing employees who should be developed for leadership positions are known as ________.

A) core employees
B) star performers
C) strong contributors
D) subject experts

Question 28

Assessments can be used to identify communication styles that inhibit a team's productivity.

Question 29

In assessment centers, it is considered best practice not to have managers as assessors because managers often make employees feel ill at ease.

Question 30

Which of the following is not a common content area for onboarding programs?

A) compliance
B) clarifying
C) culture
D) compensation

Question 31

In a protean career, employees do not take responsibility for managing their careers.

Question 32

Which of the following makes a socialization program ineffective?

A) including information on technical aspects of the job
B) introducing the employee to company-related rules and regulations
C) restricting interactions between new hires and current employees
D) tracking employee progress at different points up to one year

Question 33

________ refers to the process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of their new jobs.

A) Training
B) Offshoring
C) Repatriation
D) Onboarding

Question 34

According to the nine-box grid, the development plan for employees with outstanding performance but low potential typically emphasizes ________.

A) finding them experiences that will continue to facilitate creativity and innovation
B) moving them to a position that best matches their skill set
C) performance improvement in their current position
D) developing them for leadership positions in the company

Question 35

Which of the following is characteristic of successful formal mentoring programs?

A) Participation is involuntary.
B) The mentor and protégé avoid casual conversation.
C) The mentor-protégé relationship is limited to 1-3 hours per week.
D) The mentor and protégé relationship extends beyond the formal period.

Question 36

The core employees in the nine-box grid are those with ________.

A) high potential and high performance
B) low potential and outstanding performance
C) high potential and low performance
D) moderate potential and solid performance

Question 37

Which of the following is a potentially negative outcome of job rotation?

A) It fails to provide employees with a holistic view of the company's goals.
B) It creates a short-term perspective on problems.
C) It cannot be used for all levels and types of employees.
D) It has no relationship with promotion rates.

Question 38

Career patterns involving movement across specializations and disciplines are becoming less prevalent.

Question 39

Which of the following is true of coaching employees?

A) Coaching involves providing resources.
B) A good coach knows all.
C) A good coach has a strong desire to micromanage.
D) Coaching does not involve pointing out areas for improvement.

Question 40

Discussing performance and development in the same meeting is difficult because they have different objectives.

Question 41

Why is it better for managers to hold separate discussions for performance appraisals and development?

Question 42

Transfers and downward moves could help employees achieve long-term success with a company.

Question 43

In the context of the Big Five personality dimensions, emotional stability is also known as neuroticism.

Question 44

Employee transfers necessarily increase job responsibilities and compensation.

Question 45

A defining characteristic of succession planning is effective onboarding.

Question 46

Describe strategies that companies can employ to help ensure that employees approach transfers and promotions, particularly when relocation is involved, as development opportunities.

Question 47

Development plans for employees with low potential and low performance should emphasize identifying challenging experiences more in line with their interests.

Question 48

By definition, mentoring cannot occur between mentors and protégés from different organizations.

Question 49

In reverse mentoring programs, peers mentor each other.

Question 50

By making a succession planning list public, high-potential employees who are not interested in other positions can communicate their intentions.

Question 51

Elaborate on the potential problems with job rotation for both the employee and the work unit.

Question 52

High-potential employees should participate in mentoring but not coaching.

Question 53

Many Millennials feel that lateral moves are beneficial to their careers because they view such moves as valuable opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills.

Question 54

Both the NEO Personality Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) measure openness to experience.

Question 55

Generally speaking, succession planning is relatively easy in family-owned firms compared to other types of organizations.

Question 56

Most mentoring relationships develop formally in organizations.

Question 57

Both the NEO Personality Inventory and the DISC measure conscientiousness.

Question 58

In the context of the Big Five personality dimensions, conscientiousness refers to the extent to which an individual is aware of his or her surroundings and is courteous to others.

Question 59

Job experiences that are seen as negative stressors stimulate learning but fail to challenge employees.

Question 60

Job rotation can be used for most, if not all, types of employees.

Question 61

Describe the challenges of succession planning for family businesses.

Question 62

Describe strategies that companies can employ to help ensure the effectiveness of formal mentoring programs.

Question 63

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of making the results of succession planning public.