Management, 14e (Robbins/Coulter)
Chapter 12 Managing Human Resources
1) Which of the following is true of high-performance work practices?
A) It is easier to implement in organizations with centralized structures.
B) It involves well-structured job responsibilities as opposed to flexible assignments.
C) In spite of its many benefits, research indicates that there is no direct link between high-
performance work practices and a firm’s market value.
D) It encourages extensive employee involvement and greater employee control on decision
making.
2) Which of the following is an example of a high-performance work practice?
A) clearly defined job assignments
B) centralized decision making
C) skill-based compensation
D) self-managed teams
3) John received a raise as a result of his last performance appraisal. He is active on three teams
and is given authority to make decisions regarding his job responsibilities. John’s employer is
using ________.
A) realistic job previews
B) human resource planning
C) high performance recruiting practices
D) high-performance work practices
4) ________ is an example of a high-performance work practice.
A) Increasing employee access to information
B) Selective decruitment
C) Skill-based compensation
D) Detailed job descriptions
5) Steve introduces in-house technical training programs for employees, as well as a provision to
reimburse the tuition fees for employees who take college courses that benefit both the employee
and the organization. Steve is using ________ to motivate and retain employees.
A) performance appraisal methods
B) high-performance work practices
C) mentoring
D) affirmative action
6) The first three activities of the human resource management process involve ________.
A) providing employees with flexible job assignments
B) identifying and selecting competent employees
C) providing employees with up-to-date knowledge and skills
D) retaining competent and high-performing employees
7) The final three activities of the human resource management process ensure ________.
A) that the organization retains competent and high-performing employees
B) that the organization selects and trains competent employees
C) the best compensation packages for the new hires
D) that employees are continuously provided with up-to-date knowledge and skills
8) Which of the following steps in the human resource management process identifies and selects
competent employees?
A) orientation and training
B) human resource planning and recruitment
C) compensation and benefits
D) planning and performance management
9) Which of the following steps in human resource management helps retain competent and
high-performing employees?
A) orientation
B) selecting
C) performance management
D) training
10) High-performance work practices are those that lead to both high individual and high
organizational performance.
11) High-performance work practices involve a commitment by management to improve the
knowledge, skills, and abilities of the organization’s employees, increasing employee motivation,
and enhancing the retention of quality employees.
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12) An organization that wants to have high-performance work practices should discourage self-
managed teams and decentralized decision making.
13) Discuss three reasons managing human resources effectively is important.
14) Explain high-performance work practices and list a few examples of such practices.
15) Explain why human resource management (HRM) is important to organizational success.
16) During an economic recession, ________.
A) human resources managers find it more difficult to replace employees
B) more qualified candidates are available to fill fewer open positions
C) candidates face less competition for open positions
D) candidates expect better benefits and pensions
17) Which one of the following would be considered a factor most directly influencing the
human resource process?
A) offshoring of jobs
B) changes in consumer preferences
C) changes in technology
D) the economy
18) Labor unions use ________ to protect the rights of their members.
A) work stops
B) commercial arbitration
C) collective bargaining
D) labor disputes
19) Which one of the following Acts prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental
disabilities?
A) Vocational Rehabilitation Act
B) Civil Rights Act, Title VII
C) Equal Pay Act
D) Occupational Safety and Health Act
20) Which one of the following Acts gives employees the legal right to examine personnel files
and letters of reference?
A) Civil Rights Act, Title VII
B) Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
C) Privacy Act
D) Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act
21) Which of the following Acts requires continued health coverage following termination of an
employee?
A) Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
B) Occupational Safety and Health Act
C) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
D) Family and Medical Leave Act
22) When Fletcher lost his job as a result of a downsizing, his health coverage was discontinued
even though he was willing to pay for it. Which of the following Acts can Fletcher cite in his
efforts to have his health coverage benefits restored?
A) Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
B) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
C) Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
D) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
23) The essence of affirmative action is to ________.
A) provide positive reinforcements to encourage desirable behavior
B) prevent employees from behaving unethically
C) prevent discrimination and enhance the status of members from protected groups
D) provide experiential exercises and on-the-job coaching for employees
24) Which one of the following is true of the government legislations related to human resource
management in different countries?
A) Canadian laws allow discrimination on the basis of language in all parts of the country except
Quebec.
B) Australian anti-discrimination laws were passed before those in the United States.
C) Under Mexican law, managers must review new employees’ performance after 60 days.
D) Unlike the rest of Europe, legislation in Germany does not require companies to practice
representative participation.
25) The Mexican Federal Labor Law includes controls on ________.
A) punitive damages payable to victims of discrimination
B) the amount, type, and timing of performance-based wage increases
C) the outsourcing of jobs to other countries
D) the hiring of candidates who are not citizens of Mexico
26) In Germany and most of western Europe, the two most common forms of representative
participation are ________.
A) board representatives and cross-functional teams
B) task forces and cross-functional teams
C) work councils and board representatives
D) work councils and cross-functional teams
27) In Germany, ________ are groups of nominated or elected employees who must be
consulted when management makes decisions involving personnel.
A) labor unions
B) advisory boards
C) work councils
D) board representatives
28) Helmut works for an optical engineering company in Germany. He is one of several
employees that management must consult when it is considering a major layoff. Helmut is a
member of ________.
A) an employee council
B) a work council
C) a labor union
D) a bargaining committee
29) Which of the following is a trend that will affect HRM practices in the future?
A) Asians will represent 24% of the workforce.
B) Working women will represent a shrinking segment of the workforce.
C) Baby boomers will represent the largest segment of the workforce.
D) Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce.
30) A labor union is an organization that represents workers and seeks to protect their interests.
31) In the United States, labor unions represent the most significant environmental constraint.
32) The trend in unionization in the United States is a decline in the private sector and in increase
in the public sector.
33) Affirmative action programs help ensure that decisions and practices enhance the
employment, upgrading, and retention of members from protected groups such as minorities and
females.
34) The Civil Rights Act, Title VII, prohibits discrimination of employees who are above 40
years of age.
35) The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide health insurance coverage to
employees.
36) The first phase of the human resource management process involves ________.
A) human resource planning, compensation, and benefits
B) human resource planning, selection, and performance management
C) human resource planning, recruitment and decruitment, and selection
D) human resource planning, recruitment and decruitment, and orientation
37) The process by which managers ensure that they have the right number and kinds of capable
people in the right places and at the right times is known as ________.
A) human capital management
B) performance management
C) performance planning
D) human resource planning
38) Managers begin human resource planning by ________.
A) locating capable applicants
B) inventorying current employees
C) job analysis
D) forecasting sales
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39) An assessment that defines jobs and the behaviors necessary to perform them is known as a
________.
A) job description
B) job specification
C) job preview
D) job analysis
40) Roberta has been asked to complete a questionnaire about her job duties and the
qualifications she believes a candidate for her position should have. Roberta is participating in a
________.
A) job analysis
B) employee survey
C) position evaluation
D) job review
41) A written statement that explains the job content, environment, and conditions of
employment is called a ________.
A) job specification
B) job preview
C) job manual
D) job description
42) A ________ states the minimum qualifications that a person must possess to successfully
perform a given job.
A) job description
B) job preview
C) job analysis
D) job specification
43) Sam, a human resources manager, wants to let potential candidates know about the minimum
qualifications that they should possess in order to successfully perform the jobs they have
applied for. What should he do?
A) He should create a job description.
B) He should create a job specification.
C) He should perform a job analysis.
D) He should perform a job satisfaction survey.
44) Recruitment is the process of ________.
A) moving employees laterally to reduce intra-organizational supply-demand imbalances
B) locating, identifying, and attracting capable applicants
C) screening job applicants to determine who is the best
D) selecting candidates to fill open positions
45) ________ as a source of recruitment is limited to entry-level positions.
A) Employee referrals
B) The Internet
C) College recruiting
D) Professional recruiting organizations
46) Gareth is in charge of recruiting at Eowin Systems, and is expected to enhance the diversity
of the workforce. Which of the following recruiting sources should Gareth avoid if he is to
achieve the stated aim of a more diverse workforce?
A) college recruiting
B) company Web site
C) employee referrals
D) professional recruiting organizations
47) A disadvantage of using professional recruiting organizations is ________.
A) that they generate many unqualified candidates
B) their limited commitment to specific companies
C) that they can only be used for entry-level positions
D) that they do not increase the diversity and mix of employees
48) If human resource planning shows a surplus of employees, management can reduce the
organization’s workforce through ________.
A) recruitment
B) decruitment
C) increased workweeks
D) reduced job sharing
49) ________ are a temporary involuntary termination that can last from a few weeks to several
years.
A) Layoffs
B) Attritions
C) Discharges
D) Retirements
50) In which one of the following decruitment methods does an organization refrain from filling
the openings created by voluntary resignations or normal retirements of its employees?
A) firing
B) layoffs
C) attrition
D) transfers
51) In her next meeting with the senior management, Jane suggests that they should ignore the
openings created by voluntary resignations and not hire any more people now. This would avoid
much of the pain associated with workforce reduction in future. This implies that Jane favors
________.
A) transfers
B) attrition
C) layoffs
D) reduced workweeks
52) Joan needs to eliminate some employees for a short while. She and her managers identify
those employees who are not meeting performance expectations and explain that this termination
is temporary but they are encouraged to seek other positions elsewhere. How is Jane trying to
reduce the size of the workforce here?
A) firing
B) layoffs
C) reduced workweeks
D) early retirements
53) If Victoria asks some employees to share jobs or perform their jobs on a part-time basis, she
would be ________.
A) firing employees
B) encouraging layoffs
C) reducing the workweeks
D) encouraging early retirements
54) ________ involves predicting which applicants will be successful if hired.
A) Selection
B) Recruitment
C) Orientation
D) Decruitment
55) Errors made by eliminating candidates who would have performed successfully on the job
are known as ________.
A) admission errors
B) reject errors
C) accept errors
D) omission errors
56) Elizabeth was hired as a customer care executive by a telecommunications provider during a
period when they were extremely short-staffed. Her employers soon realized that she was
impatient, easily irritated, and lacked motivation. They even began to receive complaints about
her behavior from angry customers. In hiring Elizabeth, her employers were guilty of a(n)
________.
A) admission error
B) reject error
C) accept error
D) omission error
57) Terrence worked closely with the new hire, showing him repeatedly how to do the job,
pairing him with a job coach, sending him to classes, etc., but it wasn’t enough. In addition to the
costs of this training, what other costs are involved in this situation?
A) loss of reputation
B) discharge costs
C) reject error costs
D) lost profits from the employee’s incompetence
58) A ________ selection device is characterized by a proven relationship between the selection
device and some relevant job selection criterion.
A) subjective
B) objective
C) reliable
D) valid
59) All candidates for entry level engineering positions are given the mechanical aptitude test.
Those who scored well and were hired later earned high scores on their performance evaluations.
Those who scored less well and were hired earned lower scores on performance evaluations.
This indicates that the test is ________.
A) valid
B) invalid
C) reliable
D) unreliable
60) A ________ selection device indicates that the device measures the same thing consistently.
A) subjective
B) potent
C) reliable
D) valid
61) When Beverly administers the math test to accounting clerk candidates, the average score is
65%. But when Carol administers the same test, the score average is 83%. What does this
indicate about the test?
A) The test is valid.
B) The test is unreliable.
C) The test is poorly constructed.
D) The test is reliable
62) A new tool called ________ is used to measure such outcomes as employee retention,
number of promotions, and number of first-year hires who enter high-potential training
programs.
A) quality of hire
B) quality of selection
C) quality of recruitment
D) quality of fill