Chapter 01
Managing Human Resources
True / False Questions
TrueFalse
2. / The concept of “human resource management” implies that employees in an organization cannot be considered as a resource and hence are interchangeable.
TrueFalse
3. / Human resources cannot be imitated.
TrueFalse
4. / High-performance work systems have been essential in making organizations strong enough to weather the storm of a recession and remain profitable when the economy begins to expand after the recession.
TrueFalse
5. / No two human resource departments will have precisely the same roles and responsibilities.
TrueFalse
6. / The concern for innovation and quality in recent times has forced companies to use more narrowly defined jobs to increase efficiency.
TrueFalse
7. / The process of selection is limited to hiring new employees for job openings and excludes internal transfers and promotions.
TrueFalse
8. / Establishing and administering personnel policies allows the company to handle problematic situations more fairly and objectively than if it addressed such incidents on a case-by-case basis.
TrueFalse
9. / Companies following a low-cost strategy closely align their pay packages to the industry norms.
TrueFalse
10. / Establishing and administering personnel policies allows the company to handle problematic situations more fairly and objectively than if it addressed such incidents on a case-by-case basis.
TrueFalse
11. / The current federal laws fail to outline how to use employee databases in order to protect employees’ privacy while also meeting employers’ and society’s concerns for security.
TrueFalse
12. / Human resource management is increasingly becoming a purely administrative function.
TrueFalse
13. / Evidence-based HR refers to the practice of initiating disciplinary action against employees only in the presence of clear and demonstrable proof of undesirable behavior.
TrueFalse
14. / In organizations with a sustainable strategy, the HR departments focus on employee development and empowerment rather than short-term costs.
TrueFalse
15. / An HR professional can be an effective talent manager or organizational designer only when he has the knowledge of how the organization is structured and how that structure might be adjusted to help it meet its goals for developing and using employees’ talents.
TrueFalse
16. / Knowledge of business trends is essential for the strategic architect role of an HR professional.
TrueFalse
17. / The HR activities are exclusively carried out by an HR specialist in small organizations.
TrueFalse
18. / The supervisors play a key role in employee relations as they are most often the voice of management for the employees.
TrueFalse
19. / The right of free consent states that employers can conceal the nature of the job while hiring an employee for a particular position.
TrueFalse
20. / Mimi feels that her being denied promotion has more to do with her being a woman than with her performance. However, her supervisors and the HR department are refusing to hear her case. This indicates that Mimi has been denied her right to due process.
TrueFalse
21. / In companies that are ethical and successful, the owners are the only stakeholders who are responsible for the actions of the company.
TrueFalse
22. / For human resource practices to be considered ethical, they must result in the greatest good for the largest number of people.
TrueFalse
23. / The role of HR generalist is essentially limited to recruitment and selection.
TrueFalse
24. / The vast majority of HRM professionals have a college degree.
TrueFalse
25. / The Society for Human Resource Management is the primary professional organization for HRM and the world’s largest human resource management association.
TrueFalse
Multiple Choice Questions
A. / supply chain management.
B. / materials management.
C. / human resource management.
D. / labor laws.
E. / equal employment opportunity.
27. / The concept of "human resource management" implies that employees:
A. / are interchangeable.
B. / are easily replaceable.
C. / are a necessary expense to process work demands.
D. / are resources who add economic value to the organization.
E. / are secondary to all elements of economic capital like cash and technology.
28. / As a type of resource, human capital refers to the:
A. / wages, benefits, and other costs incurred in support of HR functions in an organization.
B. / cash, equipment, technology, and facilities that the organization uses.
C. / tax-deferred value of an employee’s 401(k) plan.
D. / employee characteristics that add economic value to the organization.
E. / total budget allocated to the HR department in an organization.
29. / The term _____ is used to describe the employees of an organization in terms of their training, experience, judgment, intelligence, relationships, and insight.
A. / performance management
B. / human capital
C. / development
D. / traditional management
E. / working capital
30. / One of the qualities of human resources is that _____.
A. / it is highly substitutable and interchangeable
B. / it is easily available for all companies to utilize
C. / it is easily imitated by rivals
D. / it is negligible in terms of value
E. / it is indispensable for building a competitive advantage
31. / Human resources provide an organization with a sustainable competitive advantage because:
A. / highly skilled and knowledgeable employees are commonly available.
B. / the organization can easily duplicate the success of competitors’ human resources.
C. / after financial resources, human resources are the most committed to an organization.
D. / high-quality employees provide a needed service as they perform many critical functions.
E. / employees can be easily trained, motivated, and developed to care about customers.
32. / Which one of the following responsibilities is specifically associated with the HR function of employee relations?
A. / Conducting attitude surveys
B. / Work analysis
C. / HR information systems
D. / Human resource planning and forecasting
E. / Job design
33. / Which of the following responsibilities is specifically associated with the HR function of support for strategy?
A. / Discipline
B. / Human resource planning and forecasting
C. / Wage and salary administration
D. / Developing employee handbooks and company publications
E. / Developing an HR information system
34. / Which of the following refers to the process of getting detailed information about jobs?
A. / Job rotation
B. / Supply chain management
C. / Job analysis
D. / Policy creation
E. / Job orientation
35. / Job design is the process of:
A. / defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a given job requires.
B. / generating a pool of potential candidates for a job.
C. / identifying suitable candidates for jobs.
D. / enabling employees to learn job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior.
E. / presenting candidates with positive and negative information about a job.
36. / At Smartech, a company dealing in software products, employees often complain about the lack of clarity regarding the tasks they are required to perform. Often there are two employees working on overlapping tasks, while some tasks are not designated to any employee. Though employees are satisfied with the pay and work culture, this aspect of their work environment has led to a lot of conflict in the workplace. From the information provided, this complaint of the employees can be closely linked to which of the following HR functions?
A. / Compliance with laws
B. / Analysis and design of work
C. / Compensation and benefits
D. / Maintaining employee relations
E. / Recruitment and selection
37. / Which of the following is responsible for the shift in the job trend, from the use of narrowly defined jobs to the use of broadly defined jobs in organizations?
A. / Emphasis on innovation and quality
B. / Increased demand for low skilled workers
C. / Increased focus on simplifying jobs
D. / Lack of competition
E. / Reduced use of team-based project
38. / Which of the following refers to the process through which an organization seeks applicants for potential employment?
A. / Orientation
B. / Training
C. / Recruitment
D. / Work analysis
E. / Job design
39. / The process by which the organization attempts to identify applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help the organization achieve its goals is referred to as _____.
A. / orientation
B. / selection
C. / compensation
D. / work analysis
E. / performance management
40. / _____ is a planned effort to enable employees to learn job-related knowledge, skills, and behavior.
A. / Selection
B. / Performance appraisal
C. / Training
D. / Compensation
E. / Recruitment
41. / The HR function of _____ involves acquiring knowledge, skills, and behavior that improve employees’ ability to meet the challenges of a variety of new or existing jobs, including the client and customer demands of those jobs.
A. / recruitment
B. / personnel policy
C. / development
D. / employee relations
E. / selection
42. / If a company, as part of its job redesign program, plans to set up teams to manufacture products, which of the following programs might it offer to help employees learn the ins and outs of effective teamwork?
A. / Development
B. / Recruitment
C. / Orientation
D. / Selection
E. / Performance management
43. / The process of ensuring that employees’ activities and outputs match the organization’s goals is called _____.
A. / job analysis
B. / supply chain management
C. / employee development
D. / performance management
E. / career planning
44. / The employees at Edifice Financials often complain that they are not provided feedback on their performance. They feel that they do not get proper information as to how they have performed and the areas in which they need to improve. They also claim that the performance goals are vague and not measurable. Which of the following HR functions does Edifice Financials need to specifically improve upon to resolve this complaint put forth by its employees?
A. / Recruitment
B. / Employee selection
C. / Training and development
D. / Performance management
E. / Planning and administering pay and benefits
45. / Which of the following HR functions includes preparing and distributing employee handbooks that detail company policies and, in large organizations, company publications such as a monthly newsletter or a Web site on the organization’s intranet?
A. / Recruitment and selection
B. / Maintaining positive employee relations
C. / Ensuring compliance with labor laws
D. / Performance management
E. / Planning and administering pay and benefits
46. / When employees of an organization feel they have been discriminated against, see safety hazards, or have other problems and are dissatisfied with their supervisor’s response, they may turn to the HR department for help. Addressing such problems suitably is part of the HR function of:
A. / recruitment and selection.
B. / maintaining positive employee relations.
C. / training and developing employees.
D. / performance management.
E. / planning and administering pay and benefits.
47. / The HR function of maintaining positive employee relations primarily includes:
A. / maintaining performance measures on outcomes.
B. / offering training programs on effective teamwork.
C. / selecting only those applicants that are referred by employees.
D. / maintaining communication with union representatives.
E. / planning employee pay and benefits.
48. / How does establishing and administering policies help organizations?
A. / It allows companies to handle situations fairly and objectively.
B. / It allows companies to address issues on a case-by-case basis.
C. / It eliminates the need for documentation and record-keeping.
D. / It encourages employees to defend themselves by claiming ignorance of disciplinary norms.
E. / It leaves a lot of room for subjective decision-making.
49. / _____ refers to the use of quantitative tools and scientific methods to analyze data from human resource databases and other sources to make evidence-based decisions that support business goals.
A. / Conjoint analysis
B. / Performance management
C. / Workforce analytics
D. / Career development
E. / Task analysis
50. / Under the principle of "employment at will", the employer may terminate employment:
A. / after two weeks' notice.
B. / at any time without notice.
C. / immediately after written notice.
D. / only if the employee voluntarily resigns.
E. / only if he cannot show just cause.
51. / Evidence-based HR is defined as the:
A. / exclusive use of statistical models for planning, forecasting, and other related HR activities.
B. / establishment of overlapping performance goals and desired outcomes during performance management.
C. / demonstrating that human resource practices have a positive influence on the company's profits or key stakeholders.
D. / process of ensuring that employees’ activities and outputs match the organization's goals.
E. / organization-wide planned effort to enable employees to learn job-related knowledge, rather than teamwork or communication skills.
52. / The process of identifying the numbers and types of employees the organization will require in order to meet its objectives is known as: