Deck 4: Assessing HRD Needs

Question 1

A job analysis is the systematic study of the environment job is performed within.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The ultimate goal of HRD is to improve an organization's effectiveness.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Employees are more positive about performance appraisals used for developmental purposes rather than administrative purposes.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When using multiple rater sources it is important that all raters agree on their rating.

Question 5

The gap a TNA identifies is the difference between what an organization expects to happen and what actually takes place.

Question 6

The need for E-learning is always carefully analyzed.

Question 7

Boeing was recognized by the ASTD as part of its benchmarking forum.

Question 8

A diagnostic person analysis involves determining the overall success of individual employee performance.

Question 9

The organizational climate has little to do with the success of an HRD program.

Question 10

The ISD approach stands for Institutional Systems Design.

Question 11

A needs assessment should be the starting point for all HRD programs and is critical to program success.

Question 12

"Found data" is data that comes from new surveys conducted by the HRD department.

Question 13

In general it is preferable to use more than one method of task identification when studying a job.

Question 14

A task analysis asks the question: What must be done to perform the job effectively.

Question 15

Performance appraisal information can always be considered to be accurate.

Question 16

The stimulus-response-feedback method of task identification breaks each task into four components.

Question 17

A job description is a narrative statement of the major activities involved in performing a job and conditions under which these duties are performed.

Question 18

An ability is a general or enduring trait that a person possesses.

Question 19

The three levels of needs analysis are: Strategic/organizational, task and team.

Question 20

Immediate supervisors should not be involved in a person analysis.

Question 21

There are several data sources recommended for strategic/organizational needs analysis. Which of the following is (are) NOT one of the recommended sources?

A)organizational goals and objectives
B)skills inventory
C)exit interviews
D)performance appraisals

Question 22

Which of the following is not a source of data for a task needs analysis?

A)Job descriptions
B)Job specifications
C)Corporate Mission statement
D)Observing people actually performing the job

Question 23

Which of the following is not a method of task identification?

A)Simultaneous repository file
B)Time sampling
C)Critical incident technique
D)Job inventory

Question 24

Which method of task identification asks people familiar with the job to record behaviors that are particularly effective or ineffective for performing that job?

A)job inventory questionnaire
B)time sampling
C)critical incident method
D)card sort

Question 25

A major advantage of using a questionnaire to gather data about training needs is that:

A)it is fast and easy to gather a lot of data
B)it is always unbiased
C)it is completed by the supervisor
D)it involves a two way dialog

Question 26

Which of the following could be used to conduct an organizational needs analysis?

A)Exit interviews
B)Customer complaints
C)Data such as turnover and absenteeism
D)All of the above could be used

Question 27

The most common source of information for person analysis is:

A)critical incidents
B)the performance appraisal
C)diaries
D)assessment centers

Question 28

Compliance needs are those:

A)Mandated by law
B)Focused on what prevents performance
C)That identify new ways to perform tasks
D)None of the above are correct

Question 29

The systematic collection of data about a specific job or group of jobs used to determine what an employee should be taught to achieve optimal performance is called:

A)position summary analysis
B)diagnostic analysis
C)task analysis
D)job review

Question 30

A task analysis is best defined as:

A)A systematic collection of data about every jobs in the company
B)A systematic collection of data about specific jobs or groups of job
C)Asking the people who do the job to describe what they do all day long to justify their pay checks
D)A systematic collection of information on how people think their jobs should be performed

Question 31

In needs assessment, a focus on environmental constraints would occur as part of which analysis

A)person
B)strategic/organizational
C)task
D)ergonomic

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a barrier to conducting HRD needs assessment?

A)assessment can be difficult
B)research is valued over action
C)information already exist that identifies organizational needs
D)there is a lack of support for needs assessment

Question 33

A gap can be identified by:

A)Subtracting what is known from what should be known
B)Adding what is known to what should be known
C)Subtracting what is should be known from what is known
D)Subtracting what is known from what we already do know

Question 34

A needs assessment is often not conducted for which of the following reasons?

A)It can be difficult and time consuming to do
B)Line managers prefer action to research
C)There is lack of support from management for this step
D)All of the above are true

Question 35

The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other requirements (KSAOs) needed to perform a task or job are spelled out in the:

A)job specification
B)job design
C)skills inventory
D)organizational climate index

Question 36

In "The Attack on ISD" which charge or complaint WAS raised by some leaders in the HRD leaders against the process or systems model of HRD used in the text?

A)it focuses too heavily on the end results of training
B)it focuses too heavily on attitudes and emotions
C)it is too slow and clumsy to meet today's training/HRD needs
D)it works best with jobs that are rapidly changing and at high organizational levels

Question 37

The type of HRD need that identifies new or better ways to perform tasks is known as a:

A)democratic need
B)diagnostic need
C)analytic need
D)compliance need

Question 38

When an effort is made to discover the reasons for an employee's work performance, this is referred to as:

A)psychoanalysis
B)card sort analysis
C)summary person analysis
D)diagnostic person analysis

Question 39

The process of identifying personal development needs that involves the feedback of peers, subordinates and superiors is known as:

A)performance appraisal
B)360 degree feedback
C)peer review
D)progressive action feedback

Question 40

The instrument developed by the Center for Creative Leadership to identify the developmental needs of managers is called:

A)Strategic Analysis
B)Benchmarks
C)Ballparks
D)Human Resource Information System

Question 41

A diagnostic person analysis looks at:

A)A classification of an employee as a successful or unsuccessful employee
B)A global analysis of employee performance
C)An overall evaluation of an employee
D)Why an employee behaves the way they do

Question 42

Which of the following is not a component in the stimulus-response-feedback method of task identification?

A)The ego identifier
B)The response or behavior
C)The stimulus or cue
D)Feedback

Question 43

Having a trained observer watch an employee perform a task and note the nature and frequency of activities is an example of which method of task identification?

A)Critical incident
B)Time sampling
C)Job inventory questionnaire
D)Stimulus-response-feedback

Question 44

Linking the organizations strategic plan to HRD activities for operating managers:

A)May increase support for HRD programs
B)Will lower motivation of trainees
C)Should not be done
D)Does not matter

Question 45

All of the following are ways HRD seeks to improve organizational effectiveness except:

A)Preventing anticipated problems
B)Including those groups and individual that can benefit the most
C)Hiring better people
D)Solving current problems

Question 46

People familiar with a job record incidents of particularly effective and ineffective behavior in which method of task identification?

A)Critical incident
B)Time sampling
C)Job inventory questionnaire
D)Stimulus-response-feedback

Question 47

A trap to avoid when doing needs assessments is:

A)Focusing on organizational performance
B)Use both hard and soft data
C)Doing multiple methods in addition to questionnaires
D)Use hard data only

Question 48

In 1998 the US Supreme Court decided that supervisory training for sexual harassment was:

A)Unimportant
B)Adequate in both cases
C)Important but not necessary
D)Inadequate in both cases

Question 49

A needs assessment can identify:

A)Gaps between employees current skills and those skills needed for the current job
B)The conditions under which the HRD activity will occur
C)Gaps between employees current skills and those skills needed for the future job
D)All the above are things that a needs assessment can identify

Question 50

Which of the following is true about a 360 degree performance appraisal?

A)Only the employee's supervisor rates the employee's performance
B)Multiple people will rate each employee's performance
C)Very few companies currently use this method of evaluation
D)It focuses on only one or two perspectives of an employee's job

Question 51

Supervisors and job incumbents evaluate a task list in terms of its importance and time spent performing it in which method of task identification?

A)Critical incident
B)Time sampling
C)Job inventory questionnaire
D)Stimulus-response-feedback

Question 52

Which of the following is correct?

A)Compliance needs are mandated by law
B)Diagnostic needs focus on better ways to do a job
C)Analytic needs focus on preventing problems
D)None of the above are correct

Question 53

The HRD Advisory committee:

A)Should only contain members from the HR department
B)Should contain members from a cross-section of the organization
C)Meets only occasionally
D)Should never be used in analyzing training needs

Question 54

When assessing needs using organizational goals:

A)Focus on individual performance first
B)Examine areas where goals are not being met
C)Look only at goals that are met
D)Goals only matter if they are accomplished each year

Question 55

Self-ratings of training needs:

A)Are useful when combined with multiple sources
B)No information is available on their value
C)Are never useful
D)Are proven to be totally accurate

Question 56

MBO or work planning and review systems are useful tools for assessing needs because:

A)They provide performance review data
B)They provide baseline performance data
C)They provide long-term business objectives
D)All the above are true