Deck 2: The Financial Impact of Human Resource Management Activities

Question 1

From a business standpoint,absenteeism is any failure of an employee to report for or to remain at work as scheduled,regardless of reason.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The real payoff from determining the cost of employee behaviors lies in being able to demonstrate a financial gain from the wise application of human resource management methods.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Informational literature;instruction in a formal training program;and instruction by employee assignment are the three training costs associated with turnover.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Opportunity costs are direct costs associated with mismanaged organizational stress.

Question 5

Total pay is synonymous with the fixed costs,variable costs,or opportunity costs of employee time.

Question 6

In retailing,there has not been a link demonstrated between employee behavior,customer behavior,and profits.

Question 7

The purpose of the process component of the LAMP model is to make the insights gained as a result of costing employee absenteeism actionable.

Question 8

All activities associated with in-processing new employees is classified under training costs related to turnover.

Question 9

The objective in costing human resources is not just to measure the relevant costs,but also to develop methods and programs to reduce the costs of human resources by managing the more controllable aspects of those costs.

Question 10

A state bases unemployment tax rates on each company's turnover rate.Companies operating in this state will find that a lower turnover will lead a higher unemployment tax rate.

Question 11

Winston is totally dissatisfied with his job as an accounts executive.Martha,his manager,need not worry about his performance because available evidence indicates that there is no correlation between job dissatisfaction and productivity.

Question 12

The firm's strategy and goals must guide the work of each business unit and of that unit's HR management activities.

Question 13

Indirect measures of costs cannot be converted to direct measures.

Question 14

The most dominant cause of absenteeism in the United States is family-related issues.

Question 15

.The behavior-costing approach to employee attitude valuation is based on the assumption that measures and attitudes are indicators of subsequent employee behaviors.

Question 16

Lost supervisory hours must be considered when determining the cost of absenteeism.

Question 17

The letters in LAMP stand for logic,assessment,metrics,and potential

Question 18

Attitudes are internal states that focus on particular aspects of or objects in the environment.

Question 19

In any area of behavior costing,all types of cost are controllable through prudent HR decisions.

Question 20

Application of the LAMP process creates a powerful tool for educating leaders outside of HR,and for embedding HR measures into mental frameworks that provide the basis for meaningful people related business decisions.

Question 21

The best managers identify the best talents available and then create appropriate positions for the talent.

Question 22

Information,design,and statistics pertain to which component of the LAMP model?

A)Probability
B)Analytics
C)Logic
D)Measures

Question 23

The time coworkers spend guiding a new employee does not need to be included when considering the fully loaded cost of turnover.

Question 24

Having a rational talent strategy including competitive advantage and talent pivot points pertains to which component of the LAMP measurement system?

A)Logic
B)Process
C)Measures
D)Analytics

Question 25

Inventory shrinkages and accidents pertain to which component of direct costs associated with mismanaged organizational stress?

A)Participation and membership
B)Performance on the job
C)Loss of vitality
D)Communication breakdowns

Question 26

The LAMP model includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)logic.
B)analytics.
C)measures.
D)probability.

Question 27

_____ measures are usually expressed in terms of time,quantity,or quality.

A)Indirect
B)Extrinsic
C)Direct
D)Linear

Question 28

Break-even values indicate the length of time the observed effect would need to be maintained in order to recover the cost of a training program.

Question 29

When direct measures of training outcomes are available,standard valuation methods are appropriate.

Question 30

The term Work-Life recognizes the fact that employees at every level in an organization face personal or family issues that can affect their performance on the job.

Question 31

Which of the following is an example of an indirect cost associated with mismanaged organizational stress?

A)Quality of productivity
B)Grievances
C)Quantity of productivity
D)Distortions of messages

Question 32

The major cost associated with employee turnover is reduced productivity during the learning period of replacement.

Question 33

The _____ component of the LAMP model begins with the assumption that employee turnover is not equally important everywhere.

A)probability
B)analytics
C)process
D)logic

Question 34

The best managers establish very clear objectives and define the steps for their employees.

Question 35

Rather than identifying workers' weaknesses and attempting to fix them,where the gains will be short-lived,the best managers focus on strengths.

Question 36

_____ transform(s)HR logic and measures into rigorous,relevant insights.

A)Process
B)Benchmarks
C)Analytics
D)ABC costing

Question 37

The purpose of measuring turnover costs is to build a case to present to stockholders.

Question 38

Indirect measures are usually expressed in terms of:

A)replacement value
B)time,quantity,or quality
C)estimated value
D)standard value

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of a direct cost associated with mismanaged organizational stress?

A)Dissatisfaction
B)Low motivation
C)Absenteeism
D)Decline in frequency of contact

Question 40

Despite the popular perception of flexibility as a powerful business tool that can improve important human capital outcomes and boost operational performance,studies have shown that flexibility has to be essentially positioned as a "perk," employee-friendly benefit,or advocacy cause.

Question 41

What is the purpose of the process component of the LAMP model?

A)To make the insights gained as a result of costing employee absenteeism actionable.
B)To measure the effectiveness of the HR department.
C)To show how to assess the costs and benefits of people-related business activities.
D)To improve management decision-making.

Question 42

Any failure of an employee to report for or to remain at work as scheduled regardless of reason is:

A)protected under FMLA.
B)absenteeism.
C)turnover.
D)allowed in work-life programs.

Question 43

Engagement fuels which of the following:

A)identification with the success of the company.
B)discretionary efforts.
C)concern for quality.
D)all of the above.

Question 44

_____ is (are)the emotional engagement that people feel toward and organization.

A)Values
B)Employee engagement
C)Abilities
D)Concepts

Question 45

_____ occurs when an employee leaves an organization permanently.

A)Transfer
B)Turnover
C)Temporary layoff
D)Downsizing

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT one of the broad categories of costs in the basic costing turnover model?

A)Benefit costs
B)Separation costs
C)Training costs
D)Replacement costs

Question 47

In retailing,there is a chain of cause and effect running from employee behavior to customer behavior to:

A)manager attitudes.
B)profits.
C)job satisfaction.
D)behavior costing.

Question 48

High performers who are difficult to replace represent _____ turnovers.

A)functional
B)voluntary
C)involuntary
D)dysfunctional

Question 49

Any failure of an employee to report for or to remain at work as scheduled is called

A)Leveraged worker cost
B)Lost wage metric
C)Absenteeism
D)Presenteeism

Question 50

In the context of absenteeism,_____ refers to formulas and to comparisons to industry averages and adjustments for seasonality.

A)measures
B)analytics
C)logic
D)process

Question 51

Costs of employee absenteeism vary depending on the type of firm,the industry,and the:

A)distribution of corporate resources.
B)state unemployment tax rate.
C)established absenteeism baseline.
D)level of employee that is absent.

Question 52

The average employee in the United States has about _____ unscheduled absences per year.

A)1.8
B)3.2
C)5.5
D)10

Question 53

Which of the following is NOT an element of attitudes?

A)Satisfaction
B)Cognition
C)Action
D)Emotion

Question 54

What led SYSCO executives to pay attention to the human capital indices?

A)A correlation between work climate/employee engagement scores,productivity,retention,and pretax earnings.
B)A causation that higher sales lead to higher employee engagement
C)The LAMP model
D)The downturn in the economy

Question 55

Distrust,disrespect,and animosity pertain to which component of indirect costs associated with mismanaged organizational stress?

A)Quality of work relations
B)Participation and membership
C)Performance on the job
D)Communication breakdowns

Question 56

SYSCO developed a work climate/employee engagement survey built around the

A)organizational goals
B)training and development
C)5-STAR principles
D)organizational mission

Question 57

The leading cause of absenteeism in the United States is:

A)entitlement mentality.
B)stress.
C)family-related issues.
D)personal illness.

Question 58

What is the numerator used in the formula used to calculate turnover over any period?

A)Average workforce size for the period
B)Number of turnover incidents per period
C)Previous period's turnover
D)Percentage of new employees

Question 59

In the costing of employee turnover,the category of _____ costs includes the cost of the interviewer's time and the cost of the terminating employee's time.

A)training
B)separation
C)replacement
D)vacancy

Question 60

What is the crucial issue in analyzing turnover?

A)The number of transfers within an organization.
B)The number of employees that leave the organization.
C)The performance and replaceability of employees who leave versus those who stay,and the criticality of their skills.
D)Determining the total cost of all turnovers and estimating the percentage of that amount that represents controllable turnover.

Question 61

(Blank)______ issues address the fact that employees at every organizational level face personal or family issues that can affect their performance on the job.

A)Pay and benefit
B)Work-Life
C)Training and development
D)Family-life

Question 62

Define employee attitudes and describe the elements that make up an individual's attitude.

Question 63

The purpose of measuring turnover costs is to improve

A)employee orientation.
B)work-life programs.
C)management decision making
D)training outcomes.

Question 64

Indirect measures of training outcomes can often be converted into estimates of the dollar impact of training by using a method known as:

A)work-life initiative.
B)value creation.
C)behavior costing.
D)utility analysis.

Question 65

What is the primary purpose of measuring turnover costs?

Question 66

According to the text,the major cost associated with employee turnover is probably:

A)reduced productivity during the learning period.
B)the per-person costs associated with replacements for those who left.
C)the total cost of a formal orientation program.
D)reaching final hiring decisions.

Question 67

Name at least two of the four elements in separation costs.

Question 68

Descibe the benefits of employee engagement.

Question 69

Describe the concept of behavior costing.

Question 70

What are three broad categories of costs in the basic turnover costing model?

Question 71

What is the purpose of measuring turnover costs?

A)To show how to measure the effectiveness of the HR department.
B)To realize the financial impact of human resource management activities.
C)To improve management decision-making.
D)To show how to assess the costs and benefits of people-related business activities.

Question 72

Differentiate between controllable and uncontrollable costs and the direct and indirect measures of these costs with examples.

Question 73

Activities associated with in-processing new employees pertain to which of the following replacement cost elements?

A)Travel and moving expenses
B)Communicating job availability
C)Pre-employment administrative functions
D)Postemployment acquisition and dissemination of information

Question 74

Explain the four critical components of the LAMP model.

Question 75

The very best managers seem to share four key behaviors that help to trigger the 12 worker beliefs that underlie a profitable,productive workplace.Identify the four behaviors.

Question 76

What is a work-life program?

Question 77

U.S.employers lose an estimated _____ annually to absenteeism related to child care

A)$4 million
B)$4 billion
C)$10 million
D)$10-30 million

Question 78

The combined effect of all costs associated with turnover can easily cost _____ percent or more of the departing person's salary.

A)25
B)50
C)80
D)150

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT a cost element associated with replacing employees?

A)Medical examinations
B)Communicating job availability
C)Informational literature
D)Travel and moving expenses

Question 80

The three pronged strategy for obtaining buy in from managers on work-life programs includes:

A)Instruction in on-line benefits
B)Making decisions based on research,data,and evidence
C)Instruction by employee assignment
D)Staff meetings