Deck 1: Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Question 1

Competitiveness is a company's ability to maintain and gain market share in its industry.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A university degree is held by the vast majority of HRM professionals,many of whom also have completed postgraduate work.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Companies are now more and more interested in using intangible assets and human capital as a way to gain an advantage over competitors.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The human resource department is most likely to collaborate with other company functions on outplacement,labour law compliance,testing,and unemployment compensation.

Question 5

Evidence-based HR provides managers with data to make decisions,instead of just relying on intuition.

Question 6

Every business must be prepared to deal with the global economy.

Question 7

The use of alternative work arrangements,which include independent contractors,on-call workers,temporary workers,and contract company workers,is shrinking.

Question 8

Stakeholders of a company are shareholders,the community,customers,employees,and all of the other parties that have an interest in seeing that the company succeeds.

Question 9

The skills and motivation of a company's internal labor force determine the need for training and development practices and the effectiveness of the company's compensation and reward systems.

Question 10

To be effective,balanced scorecards must be customized by companies to fit different market situations,products,and competitive environments.

Question 11

Cultural diversity can provide a company competitive advantage regarding problem-solving.

Question 12

Smaller entrepreneurial companies are finding that offshoring helps them expand their business.

Question 13

As the workforce is predicted to become more uniform in terms of age,ethnicity,and racial background,it is likely that one set of values will characterize all employees.

Question 14

Companies have historically looked at HRM as a means to contribute to profitability,quality,and other business goals through enhancing and supporting business operations.

Question 15

The three product lines of HR include a)administrative services and transactions,B)financial services,and c)strategic partners.

Question 16

The psychological contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the company will provide to the employee in return for these contributions.

Question 17

The balanced scorecard should not be used to link the company's human resource management activities to the company's business strategy.

Question 18

Corporate cultures within companies that successfully implement TQM typically emphasize individualism,hierarchy,accountability,and profits.

Question 19

Initially,offshoring involved complex manufacturing jobs with little direction in how the work was to be completed.

Question 20

The amount of time that the HRM function devotes to administrative tasks is decreasing,and its roles as a strategic business partner,change agent,and employee advocate are increasing.

Question 21

Most HR Executives have recognized the need to make the function's major role into one that is much more strategic.

Question 22

As the role of HRM in administration has increased,other roles such as practice development and strategic business partnering have decreased.

Question 23

Many companies are taking steps to reduce the amount of flexible work schedules.

Question 24

Which of the following best describes the HR Professional's competency of consultation?

A)Ability to apply the principles of HRM to contribute to the success of the business.
B)Ability to effectively exchange and create a free flow of information among stakeholders.
C)Ability to provide guidance to stakeholders on a variety of circumstances and situations.
D)Ability to direct initiatives and processes within the organization and gain buy-in from stakeholders.

Question 25

Transformational activities

A)include knowledge management,cultural change,and strategic renewal.
B)are low in their strategic value.
C)are the nuts and bolts of HRM.
D)often form the practices and systems to ensure strategy execution.

Question 26

E-HRM is more applicable to practices associated with recruiting and training than those associated with analysis and design work,selection,and compensation and benefits.

Question 27

HRM practices include all of the following EXCEPT

A)HR planning
B)Recruiting
C)Employee work- life balance
D)Employee relations

Question 28

An example of a transformational activity is

A)benefits administration.
B)training.
C)compensation.
D)management development.

Question 29

HRM practices that support high-performance work systems include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Compensation
B)Work design
C)Discipline
D)Training

Question 30

Adaptive organizational structures emphasize:

A)efficiency,decision making by managers,and the flow of information from top to bottom of the organization.
B)a core set of values,and elimination of boundaries between managers,employees,and organizational functions.
C)clear boundaries between managers,employees,customers,vendors,and the functional areas,and a constant state of learning.
D)internal linking,external linking,diversification,and a core set of values.

Question 31

All of the following HR practices support high-performance work systems EXCEPT:

A)employees participate in selection process.
B)jobs are designed to use a variety of skills.
C)employee rewards are related to company performance.
D)individuals tend to work separately.

Question 32

Technology has also made equipment __________ to operate,helping companies cope with skill shortages and allowing older workers to ___________ retirement.

A)harder;move up
B)harder;postpone
C)easier;move up
D)easier;postpone

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of HR departments?

A)Recruiting
B)Benefits
C)Community relations
D)Production and operations

Question 34

Litigation involving job security will have a major influence on human resource management practices because:

A)work rules,recruitment practices,and performance evaluation systems might falsely communicate lifetime employment agreements that the company does not intend to honor during layoffs.
B)adjustments of test scores to meet affirmative action requirements are now illegal.
C)employees now bear the burden of proof in discrimination cases.
D)compensation awards for discrimination claims have increased.

Question 35

Which of the following fall under the traditional activities of HRM?

A)Benefits administration
B)Employee Services
C)Cultural change
D)Performance management

Question 36

Traditionally,the HRM department was primarily a(n):

A)proactive agency.
B)finance expert.
C)employer advocate.
D)administrative expert.

Question 37

One of the disadvantages of technology is that it does not allow older workers to postpone retirement.

Question 38

___________ is a systematic planned strategic effort by a company to attract,retain,develop,and motivate highly skilled employees and managers.

A)Talent management
B)Labour management
C)Employee management
D)Recruitment management

Question 39

_________ is a competency for HR professionals that includes the ability to manager interactions with and between others with the specific goal of providing service and organizational success.

A)Critical Evaluation
B)Relationship Management
C)Consultation
D)Organizational Leadership and Navigation

Question 40

As far back as 2004,a Management Issues Survey conducted by the CME revealed that 42 percent of respondents believed limited availability of skilled and experienced personnel would be a strategic issue changing fundamental business practices over the next five years.All survey respondents agreed that the core competencies required of the manufacturing workforce would change substantially,and by the year 2020 would include all the following key skills except:

A)A mix of creative problem-solving capabilities,technical know-how,and business skills,as well as an ability to interact with colleagues and customers.
B)A higher degree of technical and technological expertise as production systems become more automated and interconnected,and as workplaces incorporate advanced technologies such as nanotechnology,biotechnology,microelectronics,and robotics.
C)A high degree of skilled workers that can be applied to all areas of business as they will have a more well-rounded business education.
D)Multilingual and multicultural skills,as business operations expand on a more global basis.

Question 41

The main reason jobs are offshored is

A)production costs
B)material costs
C)labour costs
D)overhead costs

Question 42

__________ is a system used to acquire,store,manipulate,analyze,retrieve,and distribute information related to a company's human resources.

A)Electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM)
B)Electronic Human Resource Information Management (e-HRIM)
C)Human Resource Interactive System (HRIS)
D)Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

Question 43

Exporting jobs from developed to less developed countries is known as:

A)insourcing.
B)offshoring.
C)importing.
D)onshoring.

Question 44

__________ are work systems that maximize the fit between the company's social system and technical system.

A)High-efficiency work systems
B)Virtual teams
C)Functional work systems
D)High-performance work systems

Question 45

Managing cultural diversity involves:

A)enforcing EEO rules.
B)creating separate career tracks for employees with families.
C)establishing a strong affirmative action policy.
D)creating a workplace that makes it comfortable for employees of all backgrounds to be creative and innovative.

Question 46

The skills and motivation of a company's _____ labour force determine the need for training and development practices and the effectiveness of the company's compensation and reward systems.

A)projected
B)secondary
C)external
D)internal

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT a standard that human resource managers must satisfy for practices to be ethical?

A)Managers must treat employees as family.
B)Human resource practices must result in the greatest good for the largest number of people.
C)Employment practices must respect basic human rights of privacy,due process,and free speech.
D)Managers must treat employees and customers equitably and fairly.

Question 48

From the manager's perspective,an HRIS can be used to perform primarily all but one of the following.Name the exception.

A)Support strategic decision making
B)Avoid litigation
C)Evaluate programs and policies
D)Motivate employees

Question 49

Some companies are offering ___________ to better prepare their managers and their families for overseas assignments.

A)travel arrangements
B)cross-cultural training
C)guided tours
D)cultural assimilation preparation

Question 50

All of the following statements about cross training are true EXCEPT:

A)it provides teams' maximum flexibility.
B)it helps in measuring employees' performance.
C)it trains employees in a wide range of skills.
D)employees can fill any of the roles needed to be performed on the team.

Question 51

The processing and transmission of digitized information used in HRM is known as

A)Electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM)
B)Electronic Human Resource Information Management (e-HRIM)
C)Human Resource Interactive System (HRIS)
D)Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

Question 52

The balanced scorecard presents a view of company performance from the perspective of:

A)its customers only.
B)its employees only.
C)its employees and customers only.
D)its employees,customers,and shareholders.

Question 53

Sustainability includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)expanding into foreign markets.
B)the ability to deal with economic and social changes.
C)engaging in responsible and ethical business practices.
D)providing high-quality products and services.

Question 54

Tacit knowledge is an example of _____ capital.

A)social
B)customer
C)human
D)intellectual

Question 55

As the role of HRM in administration has __________,other roles such as practice development and strategic business partnering have __________.

A)decreased;increased
B)decreased;decreased
C)increased;increased
D)increased;decreased

Question 56

Many companies are entering international markets by all of the following means EXCEPT

A)Exporting their products overseas
B)Building manufacturing facilities or service centers in other countries
C)Entering into alliances with foreign companies
D)Entering into alliances with foreign governments

Question 57

_____ refers to the policies,practices,and systems that influence employees' behavior,attitudes,and performance.

A)Total quality management
B)Financial management
C)Human resource management
D)Production and operations management

Question 58

Which of the following statements about evidence-based HR is FALSE?

A)It helps show that the money invested in HR programs is justified and that HR is contributing to the company's goals and objectives.
B)It emphasizes that HR is being transformed from a broad corporate competency to a specialized,stand-alone function in which human resources and line managers build partnerships to gain competitive advantage.
C)It requires collecting data on such metrics as productivity,turnover,accidents,employee attitudes and medical costs and showing their relationship with HR practices.
D)It refers to demonstrating that human resources practices have a positive influence on the company's bottom line or key stakeholders.

Question 59

The balanced scorecard:

A)is similar to most measures of company performance.
B)uses indicators important to the company's strategy.
C)is a standardized instrument of company performance.
D)should not be applied to HR practices.

Question 60

__________ has the potential to increase employee productivity,encourage family-friendly work arrangements,and help reduce traffic and air pollution.

A)Teleconferencing
B)Telecommuting
C)Flexible work schedules
D)Virtual teams

Question 61

What areas of the legal environment have influenced HRM practices over the past 25 years?

A)Equal employment opportunity,safety and health,pay and benefits,privacy,and job security.
B)Executive compensation,pay and benefits,workers' compensation,safety and health,and job security.
C)Product liability,workers' compensation,equal employment opportunity,safety and health,and labour relations.
D)Equal employment opportunity,patent infringement,workers' compensation,safety and health,and job security.

Question 62

Businesses around the world are attempting to increase their competitiveness and value by

A)increasing their global presence
B)outsourcing current production
C)recruiting and hiring internationally
D)advertising

Question 63

The following are reasons that the demand for employees will exceed supply EXCEPT:

A)Creation of jobs
B)Slow population growth
C)Lack of employees with the required skills
D)Slow retirement of the aging population

Question 64

Although the labour force in Canada grew at an average annual rate of about 1.4 percent between 2006 and 2010,it is projected to ______ percent by 2016.

A)increase to 2
B)increase to 1.8
C)slow to 1
D)slow to 0.5

Question 65

You are the Senior HR Specialist for the national light bulb factory,Daylite,that is focused on providing environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternatives to lighting.Unfortunately due to the recession,sales are not as high as anticipated due to the higher cost of your products.Which of the following creative cost controls would you NOT be able to implement in order to prevent layoffs?

A)restructuring benefit plans
B)cutting training budgets
C)suspending pension plan contributions
D)paid leaves

Question 66

While there has been considerable debate across North America about whether offshoring results in loss of jobs or creates new jobs,a 2008 study by Baldwin and Gu concluded that material and services offshoring has ________________.

A)no effect on employment in Canada
B)a major effect on employment in Canada
C)no effect on employment in North America
D)a major effect on employment in North America

Question 67

_____ refers to the ability of a company to survive and succeed in a dynamic competitive environment.

A)Outsourcing
B)Empowerment
C)Sustainability
D)Resource management

Question 68

Initially,offshoring involved ___________ manufacturing jobs with ___________ tasks and ___________ guidelines for how the work was to be completed.

A)high-skilled;repeatable;general
B)high-skilled;complex;specific
C)low-skilled;repeatable;general
D)low-skilled;repeatable;specific

Question 69

All of the following competitive challenges faced by companies will increase the importance of human resource management EXCEPT:

A)the global challenge.
B)the challenge of sustainability.
C)the political challenge.
D)the technology challenge.

Question 70

How diversity issues are managed in companies has implications for all the following EXCEPT:

A)knowing how to learn.
B)creativity.
C)retaining good employees.
D)problem solving.

Question 71

Which of the following is FALSE about high-involvement,adaptive organizational structures?

A)Employees are in a constant state of learning and performance improvement.
B)Employees are free to move wherever they are needed in a company.
C)Line employees are trained to specialize in one job in order to maximize efficiency.
D)Previously established boundaries between managers,employees,customers,and vendors are abandoned.

Question 72

One estimate is that developing economies and emerging markets such as those found in the BRIC nations (Brazil,Russia,India,and China)will be responsible for ________ percent of the growth of the world's economy.

A)forty two
B)fifty four
C)sixty eight
D)seventy five

Question 73

A(n)_____ contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the company will provide to the employee for these contributions.

A)employer
B)employee
C)psychological
D)job

Question 74

All of the following are examples of alternative work arrangements EXCEPT:

A)independent contractors.
B)current labour force.
C)on-call workers.
D)temporary workers.

Question 75

Global business expansion has been made easier by

A)improved government relations
B)enhanced communication
C)technology
D)NAFTA

Question 76

Company Xanado has offices around the globe.Its teams are separated by time,geographic distance,culture and or organizational boundaries,and almost rely exclusively on technology for interaction between team members.Its teams are:

A)virtual teams.
B)geographically-concentrated teams.
C)lean teams.
D)teleworker teams.

Question 77

TQM focuses on:

A)designing processes to meet the needs of external customers only.
B)reducing variability in the product or service.
C)preventing errors rather than correcting errors.
D)tying pay to employees' total output less production rejects.

Question 78

Which of the following statements about technology is FALSE?

A)The Internet allows employees to locate and gather resources,including software,reports,photos,and videos.
B)Technology does not allow older workers to postpone retirement.
C)The Internet gives employees instant access to experts whom they can communicate with.
D)Technology has made equipment easier to operate,helping companies cope with skill shortages.

Question 79

_____ refers to a company's ability to maintain and gain market share in its industry.

A)Outsourcing
B)Competitiveness
C)Self-service
D)Empowerment

Question 80

Which one of the following statements about the HR profession is FALSE?

A)A college degree is required of HR specialists,but not of generalists.
B)Generalists usually perform the full range of HRM activities,including recruiting,training,compensation,and employee relations.
C)Professional certification in HRM is less common than membership in professional associations.
D)The primary professional organization for HRM is the Society for Human Resource Management.