Which of the following is an aspect of an organization’s “personality”?
A) Empowerment strategies
B) Outsourcing policies
C) Litigation actions
D) Market posture
Individual career counseling is typically conducted by all of the following EXCEPT:
A) managers.
B) HR staff members.
C) co-workers.
D) professional counselors.
The tendency of managers to blame workers for poor performance and for workers to
blame external factors is known as:
A) halo effect.
B) 360 degree feedback.
C) actor/observer bias.
D) central tendency error.
Which country has the highest per capita union representation?
A) Great Britain
B) Denmark
C) Sweden
D) Italy
Additional Case 2.1
Benson Manufacturing is a young, small firm that makes computer components and
peripherals for assemblers like Dell and Gateway. Benson’s market share is highly
volatile based on the entrance and exit of competitors into the market. Benson buys raw
materials from several suppliers who also supply competitors. The firm has two layers
of management between the CEO and the component maker on the line.
The firm’s CEO read a book about innovation and organizational change and now wants
to look at what HR should do about reorganizing and changing staffing practices. The
CEO wants to reduce costs in order to increase profit margins because he believes that
margins will continue to shrink.
While productivity and quality are largely functions of the machines used in the
process, the CEO still wants to focus on motivating Benson employees. He wants to
motivate them by increasing wages through a bonus program, improving working
conditions, and providing job security.
Refer to Additional Case 2.1. Based on the current market situation, what business
strategy would be best for Benson?
A) Prospector strategy
B) Defender strategy
C) Tactical strategy
D) Differentiated strategy
Emma is thinking through the future evaluation of her employees. Right now she is
determining what specific areas of each employee’s work to examine. Emma is in the
process of:
A) measuring performance to make a judgment about employee effectiveness.
B) identifying areas of job performance that should be evaluated.
C) managing the work process within an organization.
D) determining employee training needs.
Employee retirement benefits are governed by:
A) COBRA.
B) the Social Security Act.
C) ERISA.
D) the Equal Pay Act.
Which of the following would most likely improve the success of an employee relations
program at a large corporation?
A) Multiple communication channels
B) A single, centralized communication network
C) Official e-mail correspondence from HR
D) Limited group communication gatherings
Carolina, a bank accounts manager, physically attacked a co-worker. The bank had not
investigated a gap in Carolina’s resume and did not know that Carolina had been
convicted in the past of assault and battery. Which of the following is most likely true
about this case?
A) The bank cannot be held responsible for Carolina’s actions.
B) Carolina can sue the bank for her actions.
C) The bank is guilty of negligent hiring.
D) Carolina is guilty of sabotage.
According to your text, which of the following questions is LEAST relevant to
developing an effective compensation plan?
A) Will compensation link pay with group performance?
B) Will the compensation plan be developed by HR managers?
C) Will compensation decisions be made by unit managers?
D) Will the compensation plan emphasize nonmonetary rewards?
In unionized firms, promotions and job assignments are given to employees based on:
A) merit.
B) seniority.
C) education.
D) experience.
Which term refers to a firm with highly decentralized operations in many countries and
weak ties to any single country?
A) Subsidiary
B) Joint venture
C) Multinational corporation
D) Transnational corporation
Equal Employment Opportunity in the international marketplace:
A) must conform to U.S. standards in all cases.
B) may be modified in order to not violate host country law.
C) extends to foreign nationals of U.S. corporations, regardless of the country in which
they are working.
D) states that employees who are not U.S. citizens are not subject to U.S. EEO law,
even if they are working in the continental United States.
Ron is consistently looking for new conferences to present at and seminars to attend.
Which of the following best describes how Ron is approaching advancement?
A) Resolve problems
B) Improve communication skills
C) Market yourself
D) Understand business trends
Additional Case 2.3
Resources International, Inc. (RII) is going through a major organizational change.
Executives at the firm have decided to rethink the whole organization. They believe that
employees will be most strongly motivated by experiencing meaningful work, taking
responsibility for outcomes, and receiving regular feedback.
The HR team will analyze jobs as part of the change process, and HR must choose the
best technique for the situation. HR needs to know what the incumbents do in their jobs.
HR also needs behavioral descriptions from which to build new performance appraisal
systems and training programs.
Finally, RII is looking at current staffing practices and trying to decide what type of
workforce is best for the future. The business is highly technical and requires highly
experienced employees, but product demand is volatile. Demand can double or be cut in
half from one year to the next, depending on the economy and competitors’ actions.
Innovation is key in RII’s product development. In order to manage all the HR
information generated for and during the change, RII has initiated an HRIS system.
Refer to Additional Case 2.3. The best job analysis technique for RII would be a:
A) critical incident technique.
B) task inventory analysis.
C) functional job analysis.
D) methods analysis.
Which of the following is a characteristic exclusive to training?
A) Focuses on correcting current skill deficiencies
B) Addresses the skill needs of work groups
C) Prepares workers for future positions
D) Implemented in classroom settings
When managers use performance appraisals to communicate a message to an employee
rather than to measure actual performance, the performance appraisal is most likely
being influenced by:
A) rater bias.
B) personal bias.
C) organizational politics.
D) employee personalities.
Moonlighting is best defined as:
A) holding a second job outside normal working hours.
B) disclosing an employer’s illegal practices.
C) applying for a job with a competitor.
D) working to acquire overtime pay.
Strategic human resource planning is best defined as the process of:
A) responding appropriately to HRM problems as they arise.
B) winning the commitment of line management to support HRM practices.
C) formulating HR strategies and establishing programs to implement them.
D) training HR professionals with minimal input from line and staff management.
A pitfall of using performance appraisals as a tool for organizational assessment is that:
A) it assesses past performance and does not necessarily predict future performance.
B) the process makes employees nervous and initiates voluntary separations.
C) employees focus too much on their reputations rather than their job performance.
D) it fosters unrealistic expectations for career advancement opportunities.
Marianne is binding biology notes at a university bookstore. She is paid based upon the
number of note packs she binds in a day. Marianne is compensated on a:
A) gainsharing system
B) bonus reward system.
C) merit pay system.
D) piece-rate system.
Which of the following is an organizational assessment tool?
A) Career planning workshops
B) Career workbooks
C) Assessment centers
D) Interest inventories
Effective training programs are most likely:
A) focused on soft rather than hard skills.
B) outsourced to training specialists.
C) linked to a firm’s strategic goals.
D) implemented off-site.