Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 1: The Evolution of HRM and HRIS
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The alignment of the HRM function with organizational goals to contribute to
competitive advantage is referred to as ______.
A. an HR balanced scorecard
B. strategic human resources management (strategic HRM)
C. concreteness or congruence
D. human resources program evaluation
2. To add value to the organization, the use of an HRIS is focused primarily on
structural realignment and strategic redirection. This an example of which of the
following tasks or activities?
A. transactional
B. benchmarking
C. transformational
D. reengineering
3. Which of the following is a risk of an HRIS?
A. employee stress and resistance
B. increased training costs
C. increased recruitment costs
D. reduced quality of decision making
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
4. One of the major purposes of the implementation of an HRIS is to allow HR
employees to spend less time on ______.
A. traditional activities
B. transactional activities
C. transformational activities
D. theoretical activities
5. The birth of the field of human resource management took place during the ______
era.
A. “the Cloud” and Mobile Technology
B. post–World War II
C. Cost-Effectiveness
D. Social Issues
6. When do an individual’s first experiences with an employer’s HRIS occur?
A. when they are hired
B. when they are fired
C. when they consider working for a firm
D. on the first anniversary of their hiring
7. According to the book, an HRIS ______.
A. is defined only by the software–hardware configuration it uses
B. is used to store data for use by the MIS department
C. includes people, forms, policies, procedures, and data
D. cannot be used to manipulate and analyze data
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
8. To compete in the marketplace, firms need to what resources to achieve, profit, and
survive?
A. technology, human, and inventory
B. physical, human, and technology
C. financial, technology, and inventory
D. physical, organizational, and human
9. What does eHRM stand for?
A. electronic human resource management
B. efficient human resource management
C. educational human resource management
D. esoteric human resource management
10. The activities during the pre–World War II era included all the following EXCEPT for
______.
A. record keeping of employee information
B. an unprecedented increase in the amount of labor legislation
C. scientific management was the prevailing philosophy
D. very few government influences in employment relations
11. The historical era in which employees started forming trade unions was ______.
A. pre–World War II era
B. post–World War II era
C. Social Issues era
D. Cost-Effectiveness era
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
12. It has been estimated that most HR departments spend approximately ______ on
transformational activities.
A. 15%–30%
B. 5%–15%
C. 65%–75%
D. 50%–65%
13. A company that led the ERP market in the late 1990s was ______.
A. Apple
B. SAP
C. Tesla
True/False
1. Entering employee payroll information is an example of an HR transactional activity.
2. Recruiting new employees from the external labor market is an example of an HR
transactional activity.
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
3. The recruitment and training functions of an HR department are traditional activities.
4. The mobilization of labor during World War II was the main factor leading to the
development of the HR balanced scorecard.
5. HR has been slower than other business functions in adopting computer technology.
6. The system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute
information regarding an organization’s human resources is called the traditional
information system.
7. Advances in technology have enabled HRIS to expand their functionality and breadth
in the support of human resource management.
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
8. HR activities or programs that increase the strategic importance and visibility of the
HR function in the firm are referred to as transformational activities.
9. Time and motion studies influenced the scientific management philosophy of
managing employees.
10. Business process reengineering and the creation of the HR scorecard was
characteristic of the Cost-Effectiveness era.
11. Because there is not one best way to strategically deploy HR resources,
researchers increasingly emphasize the best-practice approach to strategic HRM as
opposed to the best-fit approach.
12. In recent years, cloud-based HR systems have become less popular.
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
13. While eHRM is a way of conducting HR, the HRIS is the technology through which
eHRM is enabled.
14. One of the advantages of using a HRIS is management by computer and
substitution of technology for human judgment.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-4: Explain the value and risks associated with the use of a HRIS.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Value and Risks of HRIS
Difficulty Level: Medium
AACSB Standard: Application of knowledge
Essay
1. What are four important advantages to firms using an HRIS?
2. What factors affect a firm’s ability to harness the potential of an HRIS?
Ans:
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
3. What are the main factors that led to the evolution of strategic HRM?
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
5. What is the desired effect of the implementation of an HRIS on the three types of HR
activities?
6. Describe the distinction between eHRM and HRIS.
7. Why is there not one best way to strategically deploy HR resources for every
organization throughout the world?
8. As the HR director, you were given the task of providing awards to all employees with
10, 20, and 30 years of service to the organization. However, your company has 25,000
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e