Question 1

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next 3 years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum,as employees remain with the company for less than 2 years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if TRUE,best supports the argument that Marie should use a computerized skills inventory database?

Accepted Answer

Computerized skills inventory databases provide firms with easy access to information about all employees. If Barnum wants to hire internally, then a database would provide the skills inventory needed to determine the most qualified candidates to staff the new hotels. Recruiting, job rotation, and discrimination claims are less relevant to implementing a computerized skills inventory database.

Question 2

Theresa,an HR manager,works for a firm that is planning to expand overseas.Theresa is in the process of workforce planning and has already forecasted the firm's labor demand.What should Theresa do next?

Accepted Answer

The basic workforce planning process is to forecast the employer's demand for labor and supply of labor; then identify workforce gaps, and develop action plans to fill the projected gaps.

Question 3

Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel chain.Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next 3 years and will have many job positions to fill.Historically,employee turnover is high at Barnum,as employees usually remain with the company for less than 2 years before quitting.Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company's goals for the future and to improve employee retention rates. Which of the following,if TRUE,best supports the argument that a scatter plot is the most appropriate tool for Marie to use in estimating future personnel needs?

Accepted Answer

Scatter plots graphically show how two variables are related, such as hotel size and staffing levels. Marie should be able to estimate personnel needs if the new hotels are the same size as current ones. Productivity levels, qualifications inventories, and marketing are less important factors.

Question 4

When managers need to determine which employees are available for promotion or transfer,they will most likely use ________.

Accepted Answer

Qualifications skills are records that list the education, skills, and career interests of employees. Such inventories are used in identifying internal candidates for promotion.

Question 5

Which of the following refers to company records that show the present performance and promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions?

Accepted Answer

Personnel replacement charts show the present performance and promotability for each position's potential replacement. As an alternative, you can develop a position replacement card. For this you create a card for each position, showing possible replacements as well as their present performance, promotion potential, and training.

Question 6

A firm's ________ should guide employment planning and determine the types of skills and competencies the firm needs.

Accepted Answer

Personnel plans should flow from the firm's strategic planning processes. Personnel planning involves predicting the skills and competencies the employer will need to execute its strategy.

Question 7

Newton Building Supplies hopes to generate an extra $4 million in sales next year.A salesperson traditionally generates $800,000 in sales each year.Using ratio analysis,how many new salespeople should Newton hire?

Accepted Answer

Ratio analysis is used to make a forecast, in this case, based on the number of salespeople and sales volume. $4 million in sales divided by the $800,000 generated by each salesperson indicates that five extra salespeople should be hired by Newton.

Question 8

Steve,an HR manager for IBM,must decide what positions the firm should fill in the next 6 months,which means Steve is currently working on ________.

Accepted Answer

Workforce planning is also known as employment or personnel planning. Personnel or employment planning is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them. The process considers all future positions from maintenance workers to executives and flows from the firm's strategic plans.

Question 9

________ contain data on employees' performance records,educational backgrounds,and promotion recommendations.

Accepted Answer

Qualifications or skills inventories are used by managers when determining which employees should be promoted or transferred. A skills inventory contains data on an employee's performance, education, and promotability.

Question 10

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be considered by employers during the process of workforce planning?

Accepted Answer

In planning for future employment requirements, employers need to forecast personnel needs and the supply of inside and outside candidates. Organizational culture is less likely to be a factor.

Question 11

Which of the following is created for each position in a company to show possible replacement candidates and their qualifications?

Accepted Answer

A position replacement card is a manual device for tracking employee qualifications. For this you create a card for each position, showing possible replacements as well as their present performance, promotion potential, and training.

Question 12

The process of making forecasts based on the relationship between some causal factor like sales volume and the number of employees required is called ________.

Accepted Answer

A ratio analysis is a forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios between, for example, sales volume and the number of employees needed.

Question 13

Which of the following factors is LEAST relevant to forecasting personnel needs?

Accepted Answer

This forecast depends first on the manager's own sense of what's happening in his or her industry and locale. For example, falling unemployment rates recently suggested that finding good candidates might be getting tougher. The manager then supplements such observations with formal economic projections. Marketing is less relevant to the personnel planning.

Question 14

A ________ shows graphically how two variables are related.

Accepted Answer

A scatter plot graphically illustrates the relationship between two variables. Scatter plots, trend analyses, and ratio analyses are used to forecast personnel needs.

Question 15

All of the following terms refer to the process of deciding how to fill positions at an organization EXCEPT ________ planning.

Accepted Answer

Workforce (or employment or personnel) planning is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill, and how to fill them. Most firms call the process of deciding how to fill executive jobs succession planning.

Question 16

What is the first step in the recruitment and selection process?

Accepted Answer

Employment planning and forecasting is the first step in the recruitment and selection process. Building an applicant pool and having candidates complete job applications are the next steps in the process. Assessing training requirements is not one of the steps in the recruitment and selection process.

Question 17

Which of the following refers to studying variations in a firm's past employment levels to predict future needs?

Accepted Answer

Trend analysis involves studying a firm's employment levels over the past 5 years or so to predict future needs. Ratio analysis means making forecasts based on the ratio between some causal factor (such as sales volume) and the number of employees required (for instance, number of salespeople). Job posting means publicizing the open job to employees. Transition analysis forecasts the availability of internal job candidates.

Question 18

What is the primary goal of the recruitment and selection process?

Accepted Answer

The recruitment and selection process is a series of hurdles aimed at selecting the best candidate for the job.

Question 19

________ is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them.

Accepted Answer

Personnel planning is the process of deciding what positions to fill at a company and how to fill them. Personnel planning focuses on all future positions at a firm and may require employers to conduct a trend analysis.

Question 20

What is the purpose of recruiting?

Accepted Answer

The purpose of recruiting is to develop an applicant pool using both internal and external sources. Recruitment should make sense in terms of a firm's strategic plans, but the purpose is not to establish a strategy.

Quiz 5: Personnel Planning and Recruiting