Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 5e (Dessler)
Chapter 5 Personnel Planning and Recruiting
1) ________ is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill
them.
A) Employee selection
B) Talent management
C) Personnel planning
D) Trend analysis
2) What is the purpose of recruiting?
A) forecasting the supply of candidates
B) developing an applicant pool
C) establishing a strategic plan
D) developing qualifications inventories
3) Steve, an HR manager for IBM, must decide what positions the firm should fill in the next 6
months, which means Steve is currently working on ________.
A) candidate screening
B) workforce planning
C) employee contracting
D) department training
4) A firm’s ________ should guide employment planning and determine the types of skills and
competencies the firm needs.
A) organizational chart
B) recruitment process
C) marketing plan
D) strategic plan
5) Which of the following is LEAST likely to be considered by employers during the process of
workforce planning?
A) personnel needs
B) organizational culture
C) supply of inside candidates
D) supply of outside candidates
6) Which of the following refers to studying variations in a firm’s past employment levels to
predict future needs?
A) ratio analysis
B) trend analysis
C) job posting
D) transition analysis
7) The process of making forecasts based on the relationship between some causal factor like
sales volume and the number of employees required is called ________.
A) ratio analysis
B) trend analysis
C) graphical analysis
D) computer analysis
8) Newton Building Supplies hopes to generate an extra $4 million in sales next year. A
salesperson traditionally generates $800,000 in sales each year. Using ratio analysis, how many
new salespeople should Newton hire?
A) 2
B) 5
C) 10
D) 12
9) A ________ shows graphically how two variables are related.
A) trend analysis
B) ratio analysis
C) scatter plot
D) correlation analysis
10) Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel
chain. Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next 3 years and will have many job
positions to fill. Historically, employee turnover is high at Barnum, as employees usually remain
with the company for less than 2 years before quitting. Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make
significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company’s goals for the future
and to improve employee retention rates.
Which of the following, if TRUE, best supports the argument that a scatter plot is the most
appropriate tool for Marie to use in estimating future personnel needs?
A) Productivity levels for Barnum employees typically vary from month to month.
B) The size of the two new Barnum hotels will be similar to the chain’s other hotels.
C) Barnum requires HR to maintain qualifications inventories for all current employees.
D) Barnum’s marketing department will develop a new promotional campaign for the new hotels.
11) ________ contain data on employees’ performance records, educational backgrounds, and
promotion recommendations.
A) Computerized forecasting tools
B) Replacement charts
C) Qualifications inventories
D) HR scorecards
12) When managers need to determine which employees are available for promotion or transfer,
they will most likely use ________.
A) position replacement charts
B) qualifications skills
C) personnel trend records
D) succession plans
13) Marie Boyd has been hired by Barnum Hotels to manage staffing for the regional hotel
chain. Barnum intends to open two new hotels within the next 3 years and will have many job
positions to fill. Historically, employee turnover is high at Barnum, as employees remain with
the company for less than 2 years before quitting. Marie realizes that Barnum needs to make
significant changes in its personnel strategy in order to meet the company’s goals for the future
and improve employee retention rates.
Which of the following, if TRUE, best supports the argument that Marie should use a
computerized skills inventory database?
A) Barnum executives would like to transfer the firm’s most qualified employees to the new
hotels to fill supervisory positions.
B) Barnum primarily recruits for management trainee positions at college campuses and through
online job boards.
C) Barnum’s HR managers frequently receive discrimination complaints that must be
investigated by the EEOC.
D) Barnum offers its employees many opportunities to participate in job rotation and job
expansion experiences.
14) All of the following terms refer to the process of deciding how to fill positions at an
organization EXCEPT ________ planning.
A) succession
B) workforce
C) personnel
D) employment
15) What is the primary goal of the recruitment and selection process?
A) filling top executive positions
B) forecasting future personnel needs
C) hiring the best candidates for positions
D) increasing the retention of key employees
16) What is the first step in the recruitment and selection process?
A) assessing training requirements
B) forecasting employment needs
C) developing job applications
D) building an applicant pool
17) Theresa, an HR manager, works for a firm that is planning to expand overseas. Theresa is in
the process of workforce planning and has already forecasted the firm’s labor demand. What
should Theresa do next?
A) create a job competencies matrix of all positions
B) establish training and development plans
C) identify workforce gaps
D) determine recruitment methods
18) Which of the following refers to company records that show the present performance and
promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions?
A) employee ratio analysis
B) qualifications inventory
C) employee replacement card
D) personnel replacement chart
19) Which of the following is created for each position in a company to show possible
replacement candidates and their qualifications?
A) computerized forecast
B) skills inventory record
C) position replacement card
D) personnel replacement matrix
20) Which of the following factors is LEAST relevant to forecasting personnel needs?
A) economic projections
B) marketing methods
C) labor supply
D) unemployment rates
21) Which law includes a provision that protects the privacy of employee medical records?
A) ADA
B) Title VII
C) ADEA
D) HIPAA
22) Which of the following would most likely improve the security of employee data?
A) ensuring that all files are read-only and write-only
B) minimizing the use of password-protected folders
C) performing random background checks
D) reducing the number of firewalls
23) A manager who needs to forecast the external labor supply will most likely use all of the
following resources EXCEPT ________.
A) O*NET
B) U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
C) Bureau of Labor Statistics
D) The New York Times
24) Which term refers to paying continuous attention to workforce planning issues?
A) talent management and development
B) predictive workforce monitoring
C) strategic personnel planning
D) external labor forecasting
25) What was a result of Valero Energy implementing a labor supply chain to monitor
recruitment and hiring?
A) reduced hiring costs
B) increased internal hires
C) reduced need for recruiting yield pyramids
D) increased use of organizational development
26) Employment planning should be an integral part of a firm’s strategic and HR planning
process.
27) Ratio analysis and trend analysis are rarely used to forecast personnel needs because they are
complicated methods that produce historically unreliable results.
28) The assumption shared by both trend analysis and ratio analysis is that productivity remains
about the same from year to year.
29) A scatter plot is a personnel forecasting method that analyzes a firm’s past employment needs
to predict future needs.
30) Projected turnover, employee skills, financial resources, and technological changes are
significant factors that managers must consider when determining future workforce needs.
31) Personnel planning is called succession planning when referring to the process of filling jobs
like that of accounting clerk, data analyst, or administrative assistant.
32) Personnel forecasting software enables retail managers to estimate short-term employment
needs based on sales forecasts and anticipated store traffic.
33) When an employee with access to personal information is on leave, it is best for the security
of employee data to hire a temporary worker.
34) What is workforce planning? What tools are available to managers for projecting personnel
needs?
35) In a brief essay, explain how strategic planning relates to both employment planning and
recruiting.
36) Explain how application forms, skills inventory systems, and personnel replacement charts
help HR managers predict an individual’s job performance.
37) How can an HR department protect employee data from identity theft? Describe at least three
methods.
38) Workforce planning should result in a workforce action plan. What should be included in a
workforce action plan?
39) The HR manager at Falco Industries knows from past experience that generating 1,200 leads
will most likely lead to 150 candidate interviews and 50 new hires. The HR manager most likely
relies on a(n) ________.
A) recruiting yield pyramid
B) qualifications inventory
C) employment position matrix
D) personnel replacement chart
40) Which term refers to finding and/or attracting applicants for the employer’s open positions?
A) employee recruiting
B) applicant tracking
C) employee selection
D) job development
41) What is the primary way that a firm builds a brand that improves recruiting efforts?
A) investing in the local community
B) creating a positive work environment
C) encouraging diversity in the workplace
D) developing environmentally-friendly ads
42) Why is branding important to effective recruiting? How can a firm develop its brand and
improve recruiting efforts? Describe firms that have branded themselves as good places to work.
43) Job posting refers to all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A) listing the job’s work schedule and pay rate
B) publicizing the job to current employees
C) listing the job’s required qualifications
D) listing the number of desired applicants
44) What is an advantage of filling open positions with internal candidates?
A) orientation needs reduced
B) interviewing streamlined
C) job postings publicized
D) status quo maintained
45) When seeking internal candidates, managers are likely to use ________ to find employees
with the necessary requirements for open positions.
A) job postings
B) labor forecasts
C) qualifications skills inventories
D) recruiting yield pyramids
46) Publicizing an open job to employees through a firm’s intranet or bulletin board is known as
job posting.
47) What are the advantages and disadvantages of filling open positions with inside candidates?
48) Workplace activities that tend to foster employee engagement include all of the following
EXCEPT ________.
A) internal recruiting
B) job forecasting
C) workforce planning
D) recognition and rewards program
49) Todd has been identified by Markam Industries as a high-potential employee in the firm’s
succession planning process. Which of the following activities would most likely aid in
developing Todd’s potential?
A) job rotation
B) employee orientation
C) performance appraisal
D) multicultural training
50) Which of the following is used by employers to schedule interviews, match candidates with
positions, and compile résumé information?
A) applicant tracking systems
B) executive support systems
C) online job boards
D) O*NET
51) Which of the following refers to an online vendor that uses its own servers to compile
application information, prescreen applicants, and help employers set job interview
appointments?
A) headhunter
B) recruitment specialist
C) employment agency
D) application service provider