Fundamentals of Management, 10e (Robbins)
Chapter 7 Managing Human Resources
1) The first three activities of the human resource management (HRM) process are about
________.
A) recruiting
B) planning
C) training
D) downsizing
2) Human resource management is concerned with ________ competent employees.
A) obtaining
B) obtaining, training, motivating, and retaining
C) obtaining, training, and motivating
D) training and keeping
3) For the most part, ________ are involved in HR decisions within their own department or
unit.
A) very few managers
B) some managers
C) most managers
D) all managers
4) Employment planning involves ________.
A) addition of staff only
B) addition of staff and reduction of staff only
C) addition of staff, reduction of staff, and selection only
D) addition of staff, reduction of staff, motivation of staff, and selection
5) This is the goal of employment planning.
A) selecting competent employees
B) obtaining competent employees with up-to-date skills
C) obtaining competent and high-performing employees
D) selecting high-performing employees only
6) The last steps of the HRM process deal with ________.
A) performance and compensation
B) training and compensation
C) compensation only
D) skills
7) The most important environmental factor in the HRM process is ________.
A) the business environment
B) the natural environment
C) the legal environment
D) the scientific community
8) The ________ prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
A) Privacy Act
B) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
C) Equal Pay Act
D) Sarbanes-Oxley Act
9) A wheelchair-bound applicant may be denied a job ________.
A) under no circumstances
B) if the job is strenuous or physically tiring in some way
C) if the job requires complete physical mobility
D) in some states
10) Affirmative action programs seek to make sure that employers ________ minority groups.
A) pay equal wages to
B) enhance employment opportunities for
C) provide unemployment benefits for
D) establish training programs for
11) Which U.S. law gives you the legal right to see your professor’s letter of recommendation?
A) Civil Rights Act of 1991
B) Privacy Act of 1974
C) Polygraph Protection Act of 1988
D) Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
12) Which of the following countries’ laws pertaining to HRM practices most closely parallel
those in the United States?
A) Canada
B) Mexico
C) Australia
D) Germany
The New Hire (Scenario)
Frances begins her career working in the human resources department of a major corporation.
She is asked to help ensure the organization is following the federal guidelines for employment.
13) In setting up interviews for an executive position, Frances makes sure to include candidates
of different ethnic backgrounds, including individuals from protected minority groups. Which
kind of program is she attempting to carry out?
A) minority protection
B) positive action
C) diversity protection
D) affirmative action
14) Prior to setting up the interviews for the executive position, Frances spent a great deal of
time analyzing the position and determining what skills, attitudes, and actions it would require.
This lengthy review is called a ________.
A) job description
B) job specification
C) job title
D) job analysis
15) Human resource management involves training, motivating, and retaining competent
employees.
16) Human resource management activities are restricted to the operational level and do not have
an impact on organizational strategy or design.
17) Human resource management is about hiring and firing only.
18) The most important environmental force that affects HRM is the legal environment.
19) A community fire department can legally deny employment to a firefighter applicant who is
confined to a wheelchair.
20) Employers cannot legally discriminate with regard to race, sex, or religion, but there are no
laws against denying employment because of age.
21) Employees in Mexico are less likely to belong to a union than employees in the United
States.
22) Western European countries differ from U.S. companies in that they have work councils that
must be consulted on personnel decisions.
23) ________ in Germany give(s) employees the right to participate in personnel decisions.
A) Collective bargaining
B) Unionization
C) Board representatives
D) Work councils
24) The first step in any employment planning process involves making a ________.
A) job description
B) human resource inventory
C) product evaluation
D) job specification
25) The lengthy process by which a job is examined in detail in order to identify the skills,
knowledge and behaviors necessary to perform the job is known as a ________.
A) job description
B) job specification
C) job definition
D) job analysis
26) As one of his first tasks in a new job, Steve’s boss asks him to develop a database that lists
the educational level, special capabilities, and specialized skills of all the employees in his firm.
This is known as a ________.
A) job description
B) human resource inventory
C) lengthy process
D) job analysis
27) A job description is ________.
A) not a written document
B) a written document used to describe a job to job candidates
C) something that employers keep secret from job candidates
D) the official title for the job
28) A job specification is ________
A) a list of job qualifications only
B) a detailed description of the job
C) the description of a job that is used by an employment agency
D) usually several pages in length
29) HR managers can accurately estimate human resource needs for an organization by
evaluating which of the following?
A) employment and unemployment statistics
B) the general state of the economy
C) demand for the organization’s product
D) how competitors are performing
30) A written statement of what a job holder does in his or her job, how it is done, and why it is
done is known as a ________.
A) job specification
B) job qualifications
C) job definition
D) job description
31) To find out more about a job with a title of “assistant media buyer,” you would find this to be
most helpful.
A) job title
B) job specification
C) job listing
D) job description
32) Recruitment is the process of ________.
A) hiring from outside the organization
B) locating, identifying, and attracting potential employees
C) assessing the national, international, and local labor market
D) hiring from inside the organization
33) This is a key disadvantage to recruiting through employee referrals.
A) limited to entry-level positions
B) high cost
C) no diversity increase
D) lower-skilled candidates
34) While ________ can reach the greatest number of applicants for a job, many of those
candidates may be unqualified for the job itself.
A) an internal search
B) advertising
C) a temporary help service
D) school placement
35) Which of the following is an advantage of using private employment agencies for recruiting?
A) low cost
B) candidates who are familiar with the organization
C) improves employee morale
D) careful screening of applicants
36) If employment planning shows a large surplus of employees, management may want to
________.
A) recruit
B) downsize
C) expand
D) continue with current employment levels
37) The difference between firing and layoffs is that ________.
A) layoffs are not permanent
B) layoffs are permanent
C) firing is not permanent
D) firing is not voluntary
38) Which of the following is NOT a voluntary form of downsizing?
A) attrition
B) early retirement
C) job sharing
D) layoff
39) Which of the following downsizing methods can “happen on its own” if management
suspends hiring practices?
A) firing
B) reduced workweeks
C) attrition
D) transfer
40) In the selection process, there are ________ possible outcomes.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) dozens of
41) An accept error occurs when an applicant ________.
A) who is hired performs poorly on the job
B) who is not hired would have performed well on the job
C) who is not hired is hired by another firm
D) who is hired performs adequately on the job
42) A reject error occurs when an applicant ________.
A) who is hired performs poorly on the job
B) who is not hired would have performed well on the job
C) who is hired performs the job at a high level
D) who is not hired would have performed poorly on the job
43) Today, selection techniques that result in reject errors can open the organization to
________.
A) decreased productivity and efficiency
B) charges of employee discrimination
C) reduced morale
D) a weakened workforce
44) ________ indicates how consistently a selection device measures a criterion.
A) Operational scoring
B) Qualification
C) Reliability
D) Validity
45) Which of the following is an example of selection device reliability?
A) An applicant was given very different interview scores by five independent interviewers.
B) An applicant was given the same interview score by five independent interviewers.
C) An applicant took a test a second time and her score improved markedly.
D) An applicant took a test once and scored higher than any other applicant.
46) A(n) ________ selection device shows a clear link between test performance and job
performance.
A) reliable
B) invalid
C) unreliable
D) valid
47) To use a physical test as a selection device, a company must demonstrate that ________.
A) physical ability is related to job performance
B) the test is fair
C) the test is reliable
D) the test does not discriminate against people with physical disabilities
48) Asking a candidate for an automotive mechanic’s position to deconstruct and reconstruct part
of an engine motor would be an example of what kind of selection device?
A) spatial ability test
B) performance-simulation test
C) mechanical ability test
D) perceptual accuracy test
49) In an assessment center, an applicant for an engineering job might ________.
A) be interviewed by her prospective boss
B) take technical written tests
C) be interviewed by fellow employees
D) be given an engineering problem to solve
50) The most important reason for why managers are increasingly using performance-simulation
tests is that they have been found to be ________.
A) valid predictors of job performance
B) nondiscriminatory
C) a good way to test an applicant’s character
D) easy to administer
51) Few people are ever selected for a job without this.
A) taking a written test
B) undergoing an interview
C) taking a performance-simulation test
D) taking a physical test
52) Interviews are valid predictors of success in the workplace if ________.
A) questions are short
B) questions are unstructured
C) questions are structured
D) the interview lasts only a few minutes
53) Which of the following is NOT a source of bias in a typical interview?
A) prior knowledge of the applicant
B) how articulate the interviewer is
C) the order in which applicants are interviewed
D) an applicant who shares the attitudes of the interviewer
54) During an interview, an applicant for a managerial job is confronted with role players who
make the claim that they have been “harassed on the job.” The applicant is then asked to deal
with the complaints. What kind of selection device is being used?
A) performance-simulation test
B) structured interview
C) behavioral interview
D) high-stress interview
55) How effective are behavioral interviews?
A) no more effective than other interviews
B) less effective than other interviews
C) eight times as effective as ordinary interviews
D) twice as effective as ordinary interviews
56) A realistic job preview (RJP) includes ________ a job.
A) only factual information about
B) only positive aspects of
C) only negative aspects of
D) both positive and negative aspects of
The New Hire (Scenario)
Frances begins her career working in the human resources department of a major corporation.
She is asked to help ensure the organization is following the federal guidelines for employment.
57) To respond to a candidate for the executive position who wants to know more about the job,
Frances is likely to send which of the following?
A) job analysis
B) job description
C) job title
D) human resource inventory
58) In testing for the executive position, Frances has a candidate fill out a typical sample budget
for the department he would be working in. This is an example of a(n) ________ test.
A) written
B) performance-simulation
C) intelligence
D) written interview