Deck 1: Human Resource Management: A Strategic Function

Question 1

Downsizing is the laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Today HRM is clearly divorced from the management and the strategic planning process of the organization,and occupies a purely administrative role.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Web-based human resource systems (eHR)that many organizations have implemented have not really helped to communicate human resource programs.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A human resource department normally acts in an advisory capacity and does not have authority over operating managers.

Question 5

The HR scorecard system uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate performance.

Question 6

Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost,quality,service,and speed is known as outsourcing.

Question 7

Human resource management is seen as being much narrower and more clerically oriented than personnel management.

Question 8

Telecommuting is becoming more popular in today's organizations.

Question 9

Information is the raw material from which data is developed.

Question 10

The primary function of a human resource department is to provide support to operating managers on all human resource matters.

Question 11

When an organization is sold,the purchase price may be higher than the total value of the physical and financial assets.This difference is sometimes called ____.

A)virtual value
B)goodwill
C)level price
D)potential value

Question 12

HR managers should take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating managers,ceasing to focus on the importance of increasing profits.

Question 13

It is desirable for human resource managers to become well-rounded businesspeople.

Question 14

Human resource development is concerned with designing and implementing compensation and benefit systems for all employees.

Question 15

The Human Resource (HR)function in an organization represents one of the organization's largest investments.

Question 16

The age of retirement has been gradually decreasing over the last ten years.

Question 17

A human resource generalist is a manager who performs human resource functions in addition to his normal managerial activities.

Question 18

The level of communication should be determined by the instigator of the communication.

Question 19

One of the human resource functions is to provide assistance to employees with personal problems that influence their work performance.

Question 20

Human resource management (HRM)encompasses those activities designed to provide for and coordinate the human resources of an organization.

Question 21

Which of the following is a disadvantage in increasing organizational diversity?

A)Wider viewpoints
B)Tolerance of behavioral variety
C)Responsiveness to diverse customer base
D)More time required to deal with interest groups

Question 22

_____ refers to the broad spectrum of HR activities involved in obtaining and managing the organization's human resources.

A)Human resource development
B)Human resource research
C)Talent management
D)Employee and labor relations

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of an older workforce?

A)Adaptability
B)Experience
C)Reliability
D)Stability

Question 24

The laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees is known as:

A)downsizing.
B)outsourcing.
C)rightsizing.
D)reengineering.

Question 25

In small organizations,most human resource functions are performed by the owner or by ____.

A)human resource generalists
B)operating managers
C)human resource specialists
D)talent managers

Question 26

According to a survey published in Monthly Labor Review,November 2009,almost half the new entrants during the 2008 - 2018 time span will be ____.

A)men
B)women
C)white men
D)Hispanic women

Question 27

The _____ labor force is the smallest group in the U.S.labor force.

A)Hispanic
B)White
C)Asian
D)Black

Question 28

Subcontracting work to an outside company that specializes in that particular type of work is known as ____.

A)rightsizing
B)downsizing
C)outsourcing
D)reengineering

Question 29

The major functions of human resource management include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Human resource selection
B)Financial management
C)Compensation and benefit administration
D)Safety and health

Question 30

The age of the American workforce on average is:

A)decreasing.
B)increasing.
C)remaining constant.
D)impossible to predict.

Question 31

Which of the following major HR functions would include providing a human resource information base?

A)Compensation and benefits
B)Development
C)Employee and labor relations
D)Research

Question 32

Which of the following major HR functions would include designing discipline and grievance handling systems?

A)Safety and health
B)Employee and labor relations
C)Planning,recruitment,and selection
D)Research

Question 33

Which of the following major HR functions would include providing assistance to employees with personal problems?

A)Development
B)Employee and labor relations
C)Research
D)Safety and health

Question 34

Continuous and proactive assessment of mission-critical work and its staffing requirements is known as ____.

A)reengineering
B)rightsizing
C)downsizing
D)outsourcing

Question 35

Which of the following major HR functions would include forecasting HR requirements of the organization?

A)Compensation and benefits
B)Development
C)Employee and labor relations
D)Planning,recruitment,and selection

Question 36

In organizations using self-managed work teams:

A)employees are not responsible for their actions.
B)groups of peers are responsible for a particular area or task.
C)employees report to a single manager.
D)workers are involved in telecommuting.

Question 37

Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost,quality,service,and speed is known as ____.

A)downsizing
B)reengineering
C)rightsizing
D)outsourcing

Question 38

The text identifies the primary function of the human resource department as that of:

A)maintaining personnel records and engaging in human resource research.
B)hiring and firing employees.
C)providing support to operating managers on all human resource matters.
D)administering payroll.

Question 39

A human resource generalist is:

A)an HR professional who works on a freelance basis with several small companies.
B)one who devotes most of his time to HR issues but does not specialize in any one area.
C)a person specially trained in one or more areas of human resource management.
D)a manager who performs HR functions in addition to his normal managerial activities.

Question 40

Which of the following major HR functions would include building effective teams within the organization?

A)Development
B)Employee and labor relations
C)Research
D)Safety and health

Question 41

What is telecommuting?

Question 42

Explain the human resource development function carried out by the human resource management.

Question 43

Metrics refers to _____ used to assess workforce performance.

A)any set of qualitative measures
B)any set of quantitative measures
C)any online database
D)any set of qualitative and quantitative measures

Question 44

Explain the terms human resource generalist and human resource specialist.

Question 45

List the various guidelines to be followed for communicating human resource programs.

Question 46

Identify the three types of assistance provided by human resource departments,giving an example of each.

Question 47

Which of the following is a guideline for effectively communicating human resource programs?

A)Avoid communicating in peer group or "privileged-class" language.
B)Disregard the cultural and global aspects of communication.
C)Ignore the perceptual and behavioral aspects of communication.
D)Avoid interpreting data when transmitting it.

Question 48

Spending more time with the line people,keeping a hand on the pulse of the organization,and learning to calculate costs and solutions in hard numbers,are all suggestions to help HR managers to:

A)become more familiar with their businesses.
B)learn more about present and future trends in HR.
C)take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating managers.
D)view their role in the organization primarily as transactional.

Question 49

Which of the following can be defined as "the raw material from which information is developed; it is composed of acts that describe people,places,things,or events that have not been interpreted"?

A)Communication
B)Data
C)Knowledge
D)Perception

Question 50

Working at home by using an electronic linkup with a central office is known as ____.

A)reengineering
B)outsourcing
C)empowerment
D)telecommuting

Question 51

In the majority of Fortune 500 companies,the head of the human resource department,usually a vice president,answers to the CEO of the company.In many companies,the head of the human resource department sits on the board of directors,the planning committee,or both.These trends are indicative of how HR managers:

A)are continuing to occupy a largely administrative role in most modern organizations.
B)are dealing with a shrinking role in most organizations today.
C)today need to possess competencies far less sophisticated than their predecessors.
D)are increasingly involved in the organization's strategic and policy-making activities.

Question 52

Empowerment is a management approach which involves:

A)giving managers the power to hire and fire employees.
B)giving subordinates substantial authority to make decisions.
C)subcontracting the work to an outside company.
D)centralization of power in the hands of top management.

Question 53

What are the six major functions of human resource management as identified by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)?

Question 54

What are the various advantages and disadvantages of diversity in the workforce?

Question 55

The HR scorecard system:

A)uses largely quantitative measures.
B)is the predecessor of the balance scorecard system.
C)measures the overall contribution of the HR function to the well-being of the organization.
D)relates specifically to measures about people in the organization and their performances.

Question 56

Which of the following is a measurement and control system that uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate performance?

A)Metrics
B)Business intelligence
C)HR scorecard
D)Dashboarding

Question 57

What are the various factors which cause structural changes in an organization?

Question 58

Explain the term empowerment.

Question 59

Point out at least five different ways in which human resource managers can have a direct impact on organizational performance.