Fundamentals of HR Management, 8e (Noe)
Chapter 1 Managing Human Resources
1) Managers and economists traditionally have seen human resource management as a source of
value to their organizations.
2) Human resources cannot be imitated.
3) High-performance work systems have been essential in making organizations strong enough
to weather the storm of a recession and remain profitable when the economy begins to expand
after the recession.
4) No two human resource departments have precisely the same roles and responsibilities.
5) An organization makes selection decisions in order to add employees to its workforce, as well
as to transfer existing employees to new positions.
6) Establishing and administering personnel policies allows a company to handle problematic
situations more fairly and objectively than if it addressed such incidents on a case-by-case basis.
7) When a person evaluating performance is not familiar with the details of a job, outcomes tend
to be easier to evaluate than specific behaviors.
8) Human resource management requires the ability to communicate through a variety of
channels.
9) Human resource management is increasingly becoming a purely administrative function.
10) Evidence-based HR refers to the practice of initiating disciplinary action against employees
only in the presence of clear and demonstrable proof of undesirable behavior.
11) In organizations with sustainable strategies, the HR departments focus on employee
development and empowerment rather than short-term costs.
12) HR competencies are the sets of knowledge and skills associated with successful human
resource management.
13) The clusters of competencies needed by human resource professionals include technical,
interpersonal, business, and leadership competencies.
14) The supervisors in an organization play a key role in employee relations because they are
most often the voice of management for the employees.
15) The right of free consent states that employers can conceal the nature of a job while hiring an
employee for a particular position.
16) Gia feels that being denied a promotion has more to do with her being a woman than with
her overall performance. However, her supervisors and the HR department are refusing to hear
her case. This suggests that Gia has been denied her right to due process.
17) In companies that are ethical and successful, senior executives are the only stakeholders who
are responsible for the actions of the company.
18) For human resource practices to be considered ethical, they must result in the greatest good
for the largest number of people.
19) The role of an HR generalist is essentially limited to recruitment and selection.
20) The vast majority of HRM professionals have a college degree.
21) The concept of “human resource management” implies that employees are
A) a secondary component of a business.
B) troublesome and need to be monitored.
C) resources of the employer.
D) an unnecessary cost to an employer.
E) a rare component of the business world.
22) In the context of human resource management, human capital refers to the
A) wages, benefits, and other costs incurred in support of HR functions in an organization.
B) cash, equipment, technology, and facilities that an organization uses.
C) tax-deferred value of an employee’s 401(k) plan.
D) organization’s employees, which add economic value to the company.
E) total budget allocated to the HR department in an organization.
23) Which of the following describes the employees of an organization in terms of their training,
experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight?
A) capital expense
B) human capital
C) tangible capital
D) traditional management
E) working capital
24) Chris, the director of operations, strongly believes that human resource management (HRM)
is critical to the success of organizations. Jamie, the CFO of the organization, opposes Chris’
view because she thinks HRM is an unnecessary expense for the company. Which statement
weakens Jamie’s belief?
A) HRM is highly substitutable and interchangeable.
B) HRM is easily available for all companies to utilize.
C) HRM helps an organization imitate human resources at a high-performing competitor.
D) HRM ensures that persons with high levels of the needed skills and knowledge are easily
found.
E) HRM is indispensable for building a competitive advantage.
25) How do human resources professionals provide an organization with a sustainable
competitive advantage?
A) They manage commonly available resources.
B) They help the organization do what competitors are doing.
C) They keep the organization focused on the short term.
D) They hire high-quality employees who provide a needed service as they perform many critical
functions.
E) They hire employees who are very enthusiastic despite lacking job experience and training.
26) In the context of today’s organizations, which statement is true of employees?
A) Employees are not easily replaced parts of a system; they are the source of a company’s
success or failure.
B) Employees have good substitutes when the substitutes are well trained and highly motivated.
C) Employees with high levels of the required skills and knowledge can be easily imitated.
D) Employees within an organization seldom perform critical functions.
E) Employees do not have the right to refuse to do what violates their moral beliefs.
27) Identify the correct statement regarding human resources.
A) Human resources can be imitated.
B) Human resources are commonly found.
C) Human resources have no good substitutes.
D) Human resources seldom perform critical functions.
E) Human resources are interchangeable, easily replaced parts of a system.
28) Motorama, an automobile manufacturing company, had the largest number of its employees
in the manufacturing sector last year. Instead of hiring more employees, the company decided to
invest heavily in training its employees on automotive maintenance and design. Which belief has
most likely led the company to make this decision?
A) The employees in the company are interchangeable.
B) The employees are the source of the company’s success or failure.
C) The union employees in the company will resign once their contract expires.
D) A majority of the employees own shares in the company.
E) A majority of the employees in the company have an automotive engineering background.
29) Peter, the human resource manager at Tinker Inc., has a clear understanding of the firm’s
business. This enables him to comprehend the various needs of the business and help the
company meet its goals for attracting, keeping, and developing employees with the required
skills. This scenario indicates Peter’s responsibility of
A) providing administrative services.
B) preparing a job analysis.
C) providing business partner services.
D) creating a job design.
E) maintaining positive employee relations.
30) Holly is a member of the human resource department at Invert Corp. Setting a goal to
enhance the firm’s strategy, Holly works to attain it by understanding the current human
resources. Through a series of surveys, interviews, and observations, she learns what talents the
various departments of Invert Corp. are currently in need of, and attracts new human resources
according to those requirements. What kind of HRM responsibility does this example illustrate?
A) HRM’s responsibility to handle administrative tasks
B) HRM’s responsibility to serve as a strategic partner
C) HRM’s responsibility to carry out transactions
D) HRM’s responsibility to develop effective systems
E) HRM’s responsibility to answer questions
31) How can an HR department that is considered its company’s strategic partner help the
company gain a competitive advantage?
A) by handling administrative tasks with a commitment to quality
B) by providing business partner services to meet the company’s goals
C) by providing skills training and career development programs
D) by understanding the existing human resources and providing new ones
E) by answering questions on employee hiring and benefits
32) Katie works in the human resource department at Zeus Corp. Her chief responsibilities
include administering salaries, determining incentives, managing group insurance, and employee
vacation and leave. Which human resource management function is being performed by Katie?
A) performance management
B) employee relations
C) selection
D) training and development
E) compensation and benefits
33) Which responsibility is specifically associated with the HR function of employee relations?
A) conducting attitude surveys
B) analyzing work
C) creating HR information systems
D) planning and forecasting human resources
E) creating a job design
34) Which responsibility is specifically associated with the HR function of support for strategy?
A) temporary labor recruitment and record keeping
B) human resource planning and forecasting
C) wage and salary administration
D) development of employee handbooks and company publications
E) development of an HR information system
35) The process of getting detailed information about jobs is referred to as
A) a job rotation.
B) supply chain management.
C) a job analysis.
D) policy creation.
E) a job orientation.
36) Which statement best describes job design?
A) It is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a given job
requires.
B) It is the process of generating a pool of potential candidates for a job.
C) It is the process of identifying suitable candidates for jobs.
D) It is the technique of enabling employees to learn job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior.
E) It is the technique of presenting candidates with detailed information about a job.
37) At ICS Inc., a company that deals in software products, employees regularly complain about
the lack of clarity regarding the tasks they are required to perform. Often there are two
employees working on overlapping tasks, while some tasks are not designated to any employee.
Though employees are satisfied with the pay and work culture, this aspect of their work
environment has led to a lot of conflict in the workplace. From the information provided, this
complaint of the employees can be closely linked to which HR function?
A) compliance with laws
B) analysis and design of work
C) compensation and benefits
D) maintenance of employee relations
E) recruitment and selection
38) What is responsible for the shift in the job trend, from the use of narrowly defined jobs to the
use of broadly defined jobs in organizations?
A) emphasis on innovation and quality
B) increased demand for low-skilled workers
C) increased focus on simplifying jobs
D) lack of competition
E) reduced use of team-based projects
39) Identify the process through which an organization seeks applicants for potential
employment.
A) orientation
B) training
C) recruitment
D) work analysis
E) job design
40) The process by which an organization attempts to identify applicants with the necessary
knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help the organization achieve its
goals is referred to as
A) orientation.
B) selection.
C) compensation.
D) work analysis.
E) performance management.
41) Ralph works at Delta Corporation. He is responsible for identifying individuals with skills
required for the various roles in the organization. Which human resource management practice is
being performed by Ralph?
A) performance management
B) employee relations
C) selection
D) training
E) compensation
42) What term describes a planned effort to enable employees to learn job-related knowledge,
skills, and behavior?
A) selection
B) performance appraisal
C) training
D) compensation
E) recruitment
43) Which HR function involves offering programs through which employees acquire
knowledge, skills, and behavior that improve their ability to meet the challenges of a variety of
new or existing jobs, including the client and customer demands of those jobs?
A) recruitment
B) personnel policy
C) development
D) employee relations
E) selection
44) If a company, as part of its job redesign program, plans to set up teams to manufacture
products, which program might it offer to help employees learn the ins and outs of effective
teamwork?
A) development programs
B) recruitment programs
C) orientation programs
D) selection programs
E) performance management programs
45) In the context of HRM functions, the activities of training and development include
A) making decisions on whether an organization will emphasize enabling employees to perform
their current jobs, preparing them for future jobs, or both.
B) keeping track of how well employees are performing relative to objectives such as job
descriptions and goals for a particular position.
C) attempting to identify applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
characteristics that will help the organization achieve its goals.
D) preparing and distributing employee handbooks that detail company policies and, in large
organizations, company publications such as a monthly newsletter or a website on the
organization’s intranet.
E) establishing policies related to hiring, discipline, promotions, and benefits.
46) Which term refers to the process of ensuring employees’ activities and outputs match an
organization’s goals?
A) job analysis
B) supply chain management
C) employee development
D) performance management
E) career planning