Question 1

You are the SPHR for your organization. There has been some issues in your company about how much authority functional managers are allowed to have over personnel decisions. Your structure currently has all decision-making authority in higher levels of the organization. Which of the following terms best describes your organizational structure?

Accepted Answer

A centralized organization is one where decision-making authority is concentrated at the top levels of management, which aligns with the description provided.

Question 2

Your organization offers employees an employee contract as part of the employment proposition. In the contract, there's a requirement that disputes must be settled using arbitration. When an employment contract includes the requirement for disputes to be settled through arbitration, what term is assigned to this relationship?

Accepted Answer

Compulsory arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties are required to submit their dispute to an arbitrator for a binding decision.

Question 3

A corporation is a legal entity that has rights and obligations. The corporation has a responsibility to act in the best interests of its owners. What term describes the obligation of the corporation to act in the best interest of its shareholders?

Accepted Answer

A fiduciary responsibility is the obligation of the corporation to act in the best interest of its shareholders, prioritizing their financial interests and ensuring proper management of the corporation's assets.

Question 4

The concept of a learning organization is fundamental to organizational development. One of the key leaders in this thought is Peter Senge and his five principles as defined in the The Fifth Discipline. One of his disciplines defined is personal mastery. Which of the following statements best defines personal mastery?

Accepted Answer

Personal mastery involves individuals continually clarifying and deepening their personal vision, focusing their energies, and developing patience and seeing reality objectively, which aligns with subject matter expertise.

Question 5

Your organization has decided to close one of the manufacturing plants, where it employs 250 employees. The closing is not a reflection of the employee's performance, but due to poor sales of the equipment the plant produces. What is the employer required to do for the employees in light of the plant closing?

Accepted Answer

The employer is required to provide a written notice of the plant closing at least 60 days prior to the closing date under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Question 6

Your organization is likely to be purchased by a competitor. The Management has asked you, in confidence, to complete environmental scanning to determine the effects of the purchase on your organization's culture, customers, and employees. What is environmental scanning?

Accepted Answer

Environmental scanning involves reviewing external opportunities and threats that could impact the organization, which aligns with assessing the effects of a competitor's purchase.

Question 7

Which of the following activities is not a responsibility of the operations function of a business?

Accepted Answer

Determining what new products will be produced is a responsibility of the marketing function, not the operations function.

Question 8

One aspect of organizational development is leadership development. According to Pano's model, there are five components needed to bridge the gap between management and leadership. Which component in Pano's Model of Leadership Development states that for you to lead, you must have the permission of the people whom you lead?

Accepted Answer

The answer of One aspect of organizational development is leadership...

Question 9

Which of the following scenarios is an example of discrimination in a disparate treatment?

Accepted Answer

Disparate treatment discrimination occurs when an individual is treated differently based on a protected characteristic, such as religion. In scenario C, the manager scrutinizes the employee's work after a religious holiday, which is not done for others, indicating differential treatment based on the employee's religious observance.

Question 10

One of your employees has requested a leave from employment because of a call to military service. You are obligated to allow the leave, but it turns out that the military service was cancelled. Are you obligated to reemploy the individual under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994?

Accepted Answer

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) requires employers to reemploy individuals whose military service was cancelled, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria under the Act.

Question 11

There are four factors that contribute to an engaged workforce. Which of the following is NOT one of the four factors that will contribute to an engaged workforce?

Accepted Answer

Looking for key performance metrics when hiring new talent is more related to recruitment and selection processes rather than directly contributing to workforce engagement. The other options focus on aligning employee roles and strengths with organizational goals, which are key to engagement.

Question 12

Kelly would like to conduct the Delphi Technique with her employees to find out what issues and concerns the team has collectively. What is the Delphi Technique?

Accepted Answer

The Delphi Technique involves a series of anonymous surveys to gather and build consensus on issues, risks, or concerns among a group of people.

Question 13

Stephanie is an HR Professional and she's writing a review of new HR software for her HR blog. Unfortunately the review is not positive and the owner of the software is threatening to sue Stephanie because she broke copyright laws when she shared the review and included screen captures. What protects Stephanie from the lawsuit?

Accepted Answer

Stephanie is protected under the fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

Question 14

An organization requires that all new managers must complete the first six months of their assignment traveling to different geographical locales. Female employees feel that this requirement restricts them from management positions because they have family obligations that would prevent them from traveling. The requirement to travel for six months is likely an example of what type of discrimination in this instance?

Accepted Answer

The requirement to travel for six months may unintentionally disadvantage female employees with family obligations, leading to a disparate impact on them, even if the policy is neutral on its face.

Question 15

Which of the following activities does not contribute to ergonomic injuries?

Accepted Answer

Falling down stairs is an accident-related injury, not an ergonomic injury, which typically results from repetitive strain or poor posture.

Question 16

Ned is an HR professional for his organization and he's analyzing how employees complete certain tasks on the assembly line. There have been some complaints and claims over the past few months of repetitive stress injuries and cumulative trauma injuries to employees on the assembly line. Ned is examining how the work is completed and looking for unnatural body movements by the workers. What is Ned actually studying?

Accepted Answer

Ned is studying ergonomics, which involves analyzing how tasks are performed to ensure they are done in a way that minimizes stress and strain on the body, thereby reducing the risk of injuries.

Question 17

As an HR Professional, you must be familiar with collective bargaining agreements and the process that rights are given, contracts, and union and management cooperation. With this in mind, what is a rights arbitration?

Accepted Answer

Rights arbitration is a formal hearing to resolve grievances during the administration of a contract.

Question 18

Which of the following points is important to effective lobbying: that is, attempting to influence or persuade an elected official to pass, defeat, or modify a piece of legislation?

Accepted Answer

Understanding the legislative and political process is crucial for effective lobbying, as it allows one to navigate the system strategically and know when and how to influence decision-makers.

Question 19

An organization would like to bid on a project, but they don't have enough employees available to complete the work. The organization approaches a competitor with the opportunity to partner on the project to win the work. What type of risk response is used in this instance?

Accepted Answer

Sharing involves partnering with another party to share the risk and the benefits of a project, which is what the organization is doing by approaching a competitor to collaborate on the project.

Question 20

You are an HR Professional for your organization and you're preparing your team for a series of interviews. You want the team to be familiar with the validity types you'll use and encourage in the series of interviews. During the interview process, the candidate will need to complete a psychological test to determine his ability to perform in the job role based on collected and desired traits. This is an example of what type of validity?

Accepted Answer

Construct-related validity refers to the extent to which a test measures the theoretical construct or trait it is intended to measure. In this case, the psychological test is designed to assess specific traits related to job performance, which aligns with construct-related validity.

Exam 3: Senior Professional in Human Resources