Which of the following is an effective recruitment and selection strategy when the
required skills are scarce in a particular location?
A. Host-country nationals
B. Immigrant workers
C. Parent-company nationals
D. Local contract workers
E. Local temporary workers
Devon was recently told by senior management that they expected him to exercise more
authority and leadership with his work group. Just two days prior to that, his team told
him that while they appreciated the initiative he demonstrated, they expected him to be
less authoritative and more democratic in the future. The term that best describes what
Devon is experiencing is:
A. role carve-out.
B. role distance.
C. role conflict.
D. role underload.
E. role autonomy.
Fernando, a production manager at Wind Chimes Inc., thinks subordinates are
unreliable sources of performance appraisal information for evaluating the performance
of managers. However, Jose, the sales manager, thinks subordinates act as good sources
of performance appraisal information. Whose argument is most likely to be correct and
why?
A. Jose is right because subordinates often have reliable information about a manager’s
behavior toward employees.
B. Fernando is right because subordinates are often willing to say negative things about
the person to whom they report.
C. Jose is right because when feedback forms need subordinates’ names on them, the
subordinates tend to give lower ratings to the manager.
D. Fernando is right because when managers receive ratings from their subordinates,
the employees have less power.
E. Jose is right because subordinate evaluations are most appropriate for strategic
purposes.
Adam Wallace, a neutral party outside of La Mesa Inc., helped simplify issues between
two technical teams of the company. Though Wallace’s solution had no binding power,
both the teams decided to accept his solution. This is an example of:
A. mediation.
B. arbitration.
C. open-door policy.
D. progressive discipline.
E. fair representation.
Which of the following is an internal source of recruitment?
A. Employee referrals
B. Direct applicants
C. Employment agencies
D. Job postings
E. Personal interviews
Jonathan, a supervisor, needs to assess his subordinate’s performance. He uses a method
that compares one employee with another. In doing so, he rates an exceptional
employee as an average performer by mistake. Jonathan’s manager tells him that he can
avoid this type of error if he uses an assessment method that compares an employee
with an objective standard rather than another employee. In the context of types of
rating errors, Jonathan commits the _____ error.
A. horns
B. contrast
C. leniency
D. halo
E. distributional
Steve and Cathy are managers at an advertising firm. Steve proposes that the company
adopt defined-benefit plans to attract and retain its employees, and Cathy opposes his
view. Which of the following statements will strengthen Steve’s argument?
A. All the employees are under the age of 30 .
B. The nature of work demands college graduates.
C. The firm employs experienced, older people.
D. The firm employs young and creative minds.
E. The firm mainly employs freelancers.
In the context of performance management, which of the following terms refers to a
measure that obtains consistency of results over time?
A. Validity
B. Interrater reliability
C. Acceptability
D. Test-retest reliability
E. Specificity
Which of the following best describes a card-check provision?
A. It is an arrangement that allows the employer, on behalf of the union, to
automatically deduct union dues from the employees’ paychecks.
B. It is an agreement that if a certain percentage of employees sign an authorization
card, the employer will recognize their union representation.
C. It is an alternative form of union membership in which members receive discounts
on insurance and credit cards rather than representation in collective bargaining.
D. It is a formal and binding pledge by the employer not to oppose organizing efforts
elsewhere in the company.
E. It is a formal and binding pledge by at least 51 percent of employees to not unionize.
Executive pay has drawn public scrutiny in recent years. Which of the following
statements best explains the reason?
A. Top executives’ pay is much higher than average workers’ pay.
B. Most of the top executives’ pay is in the form of a salary.
C. Top executives come under the category of exempt employees.
D. Top executives are paid in the form of commissions.
E. Executives are denied short-term or long-term incentives with their pay.
Bob, an HR manager at Delair Inc., is expecting a labor surplus in the company in the
month of December. Bob has nearly eight months to deal with this problem. In order to
reduce labor surplus, Bob must use a _____ strategy, which causes less suffering for
employees.
A. downsizing
B. demotion
C. hiring freeze
D. pay reduction
E. transfer
Roger, an automobile engineer, was sent on a foreign assignment to Spain. Initially,
Roger was fascinated by the culture and history of the town he lived in. Within a month,
he began to feel disillusioned and discomforted by the differences in norms and values.
Which of the following terms best describe this phase of Roger’s experience?
A. Recovery
B. Culture shock
C. Honeymoon
D. Validation
E. Adjustment
Which of the following provisions is included in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?
A. Personal finance
B. Minimum wage
C. Wage discrimination
D. Environmental hazards
E. Retirement plans
Based on the expectation that two people in conflict should first try to arrive at a
settlement together, organizations have a policy of making managers available to hear
complaints. Typically, the first “open door” is that of the employee’s:
A. immediate supervisor.
B. choice of a neutral party.
C. peers.
D. immediate subordinates.
E. personal counselor.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of skill-based pay systems?
A. It makes organizations inflexible.
B. It reduces employee empowerment.
C. It does not guarantee that employees can use their new skills.
D. It reduces opportunities for promoting employees.
E. It does not contribute to job enrichment.
Nigel is a trainee at ZenNext Corp., who is known among colleagues for his arrogance,
rude behavior, and short-tempered nature. His supervisor, Ravi, wants to fire him.
However, Rhonda, the manager of the HR department, advises Ravi to rethink his
decision in order to avoid the possibilities of Nigel reacting violently or filing a lawsuit
when he receives the news. In this scenario, which of the following situations is most
likely to result in an amicable discharge of Nigel from ZenNext Corp.?
A. Ravi accuses Nigel of substance abuse and refers him to ZenNext’s employee
assistance program
B. Nigel’s performance has been poor since he joined ZenNext
C. ZenNext uses outplacement counseling to deal with Nigel’s problems
D. Ravi does not believe in the concept of outcome fairness
E. Nigel thinks he is a good fit for ZenNext
The two types of people in the organization who most affect an individual’s job
satisfaction are:
A. subordinates and supervisors.
B. supervisors and family members.
C. co-workers and subordinates.
D. supervisors and co-workers.
E. supervisors and upper-level managers.
The _____ performance management method requires managers to rate the frequency
with which an employee has exhibited a behavior during a rating period.
A. behaviorally anchored rating scale
B. behavioral observation scale
C. graphic rating scale
D. mixed-standard scale
E. forced-distribution scale