Deck 10: Human Resources Management

Question 1

Recruitment involves decisions about whom to hire.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Selection builds on recruiting and involves decisions about whom to hire.

Question 2

Teamwork and cooperation can be used to produce a people-based competitive advantage.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: People can be organized for success. People can deliver a competitive advantage when their talents are combined and deployed rapidly to work on new assignments at a moment's notice, as in the effective use of teamwork and collaboration.

Question 3

Khalsa Communications uses its human resources information database to analyze its past rates of turnover, terminations, and retirements. The company is looking at its external labor supply.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: To estimate internal supply, the company typically relies on its experiences with turnover, terminations, retirements, promotions, and transfers. A human resources information system can help considerably.

Question 4

In the United States demographic trends have contributed to a shortage of workers with the appropriate skills and education levels.

Question 5

Job analysis gives managers the job description and selection steps.

Question 6

The supply of labor refers to how many and what types of employees the organization actually will have.

Question 7

People are a source of competitive advantage when competitors admire and copy their capabilities and contributions.

Question 8

The human resource planning process occurs in three stages: planning, programming, and adjusting.

Question 9

People are a source of competitive advantage when their skills, knowledge, and abilities are not equally available to all competitors.

Question 10

U.S. managers have responded to the labor shortage by decreasing training budgets.

Question 11

Interviews are the most popular selection tool.

Question 12

Applications and résumés are the most popular selection tools.

Question 13

A thorough job analysis may help organizations successfully defend themselves in lawsuits involving employment practices.

Question 14

Demand forecasting is one of the most difficult parts of human resources planning.

Question 15

Recruitment refers to increasing the pool of external applicants exclusively.

Question 16

The term human capital is often used today to describe the total value of the benefits package for an employee.

Question 17

When managers find that their employee supply is larger than its demand, they may decide to use attrition or layoffs and transfers to correct the problem.

Question 18

Despite new options, most jobs are still filled through newspaper advertising.

Question 19

Another term for human capital is intellectual capital.

Question 20

Human resources management deals with formal systems for the management of people at work.

Question 21

A reference interview is a selection technique that involves asking all applicants the same questions and comparing their responses to a standardized set of answers.

Question 22

A needs assessment is an analysis identifying the jobs, people, and departments for which training is necessary.

Question 23

Adverse impact is one common reason why employers are sued.

Question 24

It is a good idea to allow some time for debate during a termination interview.

Question 25

Reference check information is becoming more difficult to obtain because of potential lawsuits.

Question 26

The majority of companies perform drug testing on all applicants.

Question 27

The process of using multiple sources of appraisal to gain a comprehensive perspective of one's performance is called a 360-degree appraisal.

Question 28

Content validity refers to the degree that a test actually predicts or correlates with job performance.

Question 29

Effective feedback, while it may be a stressful task for both managers and subordinates, raises employee performance.

Question 30

The behavioral description interview explores what candidates have actually done in the past.

Question 31

Internal factors affecting the wage mix include the area wage rates, the worth of each job, and the employer's ability to pay.

Question 32

In today's workplaces, computer-based training is more common than instructor-led training.

Question 33

Coaching, which is being trained by a superior, is usually the most effective and direct way to develop managers.

Question 34

Performance appraisals serve two purposes: administrative and developmental.

Question 35

Training is the term used for teaching managers and professional employees broader skills needed for their present and future jobs.

Question 36

The process of laying off large numbers of managerial and other employees is referred to as outplacement.

Question 37

Management by directives involves a subordinate and a supervisor agreeing in advance on specific performance goals.

Question 38

Employment at will means that an employee may be terminated for any reason.

Question 39

Diversity training is training that focuses on identifying and reducing hidden biases against people with differences and developing the skills needed to manage a diversified workforce.

Question 40

An assessment center is a testing area for lower-level employees used to examine work abilities like, for example, finger dexterity and proper lifting.

Question 41

A cafeteria program can also be called a flexible benefit program.

Question 42

Companies use empowerment programs, continuous improvement, and total quality initiatives in order to achieve which strategic impact criterion for human resources?

A) Complete organization.
B) Imitation.
C) Value.
D) Rareness.
E) Comprehensive employee benefits.

Question 43

One of the criteria for creating a competitive advantage through human resources is that they should be

A) Expensive.
B) Commonplace.
C) Free-form.
D) Rare.
E) Low-cost.

Question 44

In a union representation election, unionization can occur only if a two-thirds majority of those voting are in favor of it.

Question 45

The comparable worth doctrine implies that women who perform different jobs of equal worth as those performed by men should be paid the same wage.

Question 46

Which of the following is the stage of the HR planning process in which the organization enacts specific human resource activities, such as recruitment and training?

A) Planning.
B) Controlling.
C) Programming.
D) Evaluation.
E) Implementation.

Question 47

The design and control of formal systems for the management of people within an organization is known as

A) Performance management.
B) Human resources management.
C) Organization design.
D) Management of organizations.
E) Personnel resource management.

Question 48

Establishing formal systems for the management of people within the organization is the function of

A) Job analysis.
B) Labor relations.
C) Human resources management.
D) Orientation training.
E) Leadership.

Question 49

Poor supervisory practices can influence workers to vote for a union.

Question 50

U.S. companies use arbitration while an agreement is in effect to avoid wildcat strikes or unplanned work stoppages.

Question 51

Firms can create a competitive advantage when human resources are

A) Valuable.
B) Rare.
C) Inimitable.
D) Organized.
E) All of these.

Question 52

Federal law requires employers to follow the comparable worth doctrine.

Question 53

The system of relations between workers and management is called collective relations.

Question 54

The programming stage of human resources management consists of

A) Monitoring turnover and absenteeism.
B) Estimating labor supply.
C) Determining appropriate automation methods.
D) Implementing the plans determined earlier.
E) Discovering new HR trends.

Question 55

Concerns of human resource managers include which of the following?

A) How to manage employee layoffs.
B) How to better understand needs of customers.
C) Which products to produce.
D) How to fund increased salaries.
E) All of the above are concerns of HR managers.

Question 56

When managers and executives describe the strategic value of skills and knowledge of employees, they use the term

A) Success.
B) Effectiveness.
C) Teamwork.
D) Human capital.
E) Employee skill base.

Question 57

When companies invest a great deal to hire, train, and keep the best and the brightest employees, they are focusing on which strategic impact criterion for human resources?

A) A responsive organization.
B) Value.
C) Imitation.
D) Exclusivity.
E) Rare.

Question 58

The three basic required benefits are workers' compensation, paid vacation, and Social Security.

Question 59

The human resources planning process has three stages:

A) Planning, executing, and delivering.
B) Hiring, training, and firing.
C) Planning, programming, and evaluating.
D) Planning, delivering, and evaluating.
E) Recruiting, screening, and hiring.

Question 60

Right-to-work states require workers to join a union.

Question 61

Walmart has begun to recruit former military personnel because of their extensive training and a "record of performance under pressure." What type of recruitment is this?

A) Selective recruiting.
B) Government recruiting.
C) Internal recruiting.
D) Diversity recruiting.
E) External recruiting.

Question 62

The skills, knowledge, abilities and other characteristics needed to perform a job are detailed in a

A) Job description.
B) Job selection.
C) Job specification.
D) Job profile.
E) Job design.

Question 63

A significant advantage associated with external recruiting is that it

A) Brings in "new blood" to inspire innovation.
B) Is the most cost-effective method.
C) Limits the applicant pool, easing selection decisions.
D) It motivates current employees.
E) Draws more ethical people to the company.

Question 64

Perhaps the most difficult part of human resources planning is conducting

A) Demand forecasts.
B) Internal labor supply forecasts.
C) External labor supply forecasts.
D) Job analyses.
E) Job specifications.

Question 65

________ refers to the essential tasks, duties, and responsibilities involved in performing a job.

A) A job specification
B) A job description
C) A job profile
D) A job appraisal
E) A job selection

Question 66

The estimate an organization makes regarding the number and quality of its current employees and the availability of workers externally is called a(n)

A) Demand forecast.
B) Job analysis.
C) Environmental scan.
D) Availability analysis.
E) Labor supply forecast.

Question 67

A mechanism for promoting open job positions internally is a ________ system.

A) job bidding
B) job notification
C) job posting
D) job promotion
E) job messaging

Question 68

Selection decisions concern

A) Developing a pool of applicants.
B) Which applicant to hire.
C) Where to place new hires.
D) Pay levels to that would be most efficient.
E) Determining which workers will be affected by a layoff.

Question 69

Which two are included in a job analysis?

A) A job description and a job specification.
B) A job description and a job appraisal.
C) A job specification and a job profile.
D) A job specification and a job appraisal.
E) A job profile and a job design.

Question 70

A tool for determining what is done on a given job and what should be done on that job is called a

A) Job description.
B) Job analysis.
C) Job specification.
D) Job profile.
E) Job design.

Question 71

The final stage in the human resource planning process is to

A) Evaluate the activities conducted to ensure that they are producing the desired results.
B) Discharge those employees determined to be ineffective at realizing organizational goals.
C) Restart the process.
D) Evaluate the decisions made for legal compliance.
E) Distribute compensation adjustments.

Question 72

_____________ activities increase the pool of candidates that might be selected for a job.

A) Recruitment
B) Job analysis
C) Mobilization
D) Job enlistment
E) Job enrollment

Question 73

Surveys show that ________ are the way most job positions get filled.

A) want ads
B) word-of-mouth recommendations
C) private employment agencies
D) unions
E) drop-in applications

Question 74

Which of the following explores a hypothetical situation with a candidate?

A) Situational interview.
B) Contingency interview.
C) Behavioral description interview.
D) Unstructured interview.
E) Reference interview.

Question 75

The planning process of human resources management begins with

A) Recruiting individuals that will assist the organization to realize its business plans.
B) Hiring the types of people that can assist the organization to realize its business plans.
C) Determining the number and types of people needed to realize the organizational plans.
D) Evaluating an organization's present employees and their capabilities to fulfill the organization's business plans.
E) None of the above.

Question 76

To develop the Chevy Volt, General Motors had to determine how many engineers and designers it needed to ensure that such a complex product was ready for a December 2010 U.S. launch. According to the text, this is an example of GM's

A) Demand forecasts.
B) Internal labor supply.
C) External labor supply.
D) Job analysis.
E) Job specifications.

Question 77

Access People has developed a mini-laptop that will be marketed in developing countries. It is estimated that the demand for the new product will start out slow and accelerate as the product becomes increasingly familiar to worldwide consumers. To begin to staff the new production facilities, Access People should conduct

A) A market search.
B) A utilization survey.
C) An inventory calculation.
D) A demand forecast.
E) Recruitment scheduling.

Question 78

Recruitment is

A) Choosing an employee for a job.
B) Developing a pool of applicants for a job.
C) Selecting a group of applicants for employment.
D) Determining the number of employees needed.
E) Promoting from within.

Question 79

The selection technique that involves asking all applicants the same questions and comparing their responses to a standardized set of answers is a(n)

A) Structured interview.
B) Termination interview.
C) Behavioral description interview.
D) Unstructured interview.
E) Job analysis.

Question 80

Lanette and Jack met for lunch after each interviewed for a position with Trenton Construction. The two compared notes and found that they had been asked the exact same questions. Their interviews would be considered

A) Controlled.
B) Prearranged.
C) Valid according to empirical tests but not content tests.
D) Structured.
E) Informal.