FINAL EXAM HRM/531 Human Capital Management

1.      Which question should not be important in evaluating the value of training?

• Was the cost of training within the budget?
• Is the change due to training?
• Is the change positive related to organizational goals?
• Did change occur?

2.      For organizations, _________ is an indirect cost associated with downsizing.

• administrative processing
• an increase in the unemployment tax rate
• outplacement
• severance pay

3.      Employee demotions usually involve.

• a reduction in pay but no loss of opportunity, status, or privilege
• a decrease in status and privilege but no loss of opportunity or pay
• an increase in pay and more responsibility
• a cut in pay, status, privilege, or opportunity

4.      Hard quotas

·         represent a mandate to hire or promote specific numbers or proportions of women or minority group members

·         systematically favor women and minorities in hiring and promotion decisions

·         are a commitment to treat all races and sexes equally in all decisions about hiring, promotion, and pay

·         are a concerted effort by the organization to actively expand the pool of applicants so that no one is excluded because of past or present discrimination

5.      Because practical considerations make job tryouts for all candidates infeasible, it is necessary to __________ the relative level of job performance for each candidate on the basis of available information.

·         accept

·         predict

·         abandon

·         assign

6.      _____ analysis is the level of analysis that focuses on employees specifically.

·         Employee

·         Operations

·         Environmental

·         Individual

7.      Title VII of the _____________ states that top executives in companies receiving government support can retract bonuses, retention awards, or incentives paid to the top five senior executive officers or the next 20 most highly compensated employees based on corporate information that is later found to be inaccurate.

·         Equal Pay Act (1963)

·         Sarbanes–Oxley Act (2002)

·         Pay for Performance Act (2009)

·         American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009)

8.      Which is not a quality of Generation Y?

·         A blurring of the lines between work and leisure time while on the job

·         The constant need for stimulation/entertainment

·         Inability to handle numerous projects

·         Short attention spans

9.      This made extensive changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 that governs employer-sponsored, qualified (for tax deferral) retirement-benefit plans.

·         Short-Term Disability laws

·         The Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006

·         Short-Term Severance Pay laws

·         Employer Cost Shifting laws

10.  When companies discover they can communicate better with their customers through employees who are similar to their customers, those companies then realize they have increased their _____ diversity.

external

secondary

primary

internal

11.  Mary arrives at her new job. Before she can begin actually doing the work, she must complete a series of activities including role playing and virtual reality interactions. What type of training method does Mary’s new employer use?

Organizational development

Information presentation

On-the-job training

Simulation

12.  If employers fail to check closely enough on a prospective employee who then commits a crime in the course of performing his or her job duties, they can be held liable for

loss of consortium

quid pro quo

hostile environment

negligent hiring

13.  _____ proceeds from an oral warning to a written warning to a suspension to dismissal.

Due process

Progressive discipline

Procedural justice

Positive discipline

14.  Which of the following is a distinctive feature of the U.S. system compared with other countries?

All agreements are of unlimited duration

Low union dues and small union staffs

Wages set by arbitration councils

Exclusive representation

15.  If objective performance data are available, which of the following is the best strategy to use?

MBO

summated rating scales

work planning and review

BARS

16.  ____ implies that appraisal systems are easy for managers and employees to understand and use.

Acceptability

Sensitivity

Practicality

Reliability

17.  Training that results in ______ is costly because of the cost of training (which proved to be useless) and the cost of hampered performance.

negative transfer of training

applicability of training

reinforcement of training

simulation of training

18.  A _____ occurs when parties are unable to move further toward settlement.

mediation

grievance

bargaining impasse

lockout

19.  In _____, workers have been fired for refusing to quit smoking, for living with someone without being married, drinking a competitor’s product, motorcycling, and other legal activities outside of work.

defamation

constructive discharge

lifestyle discrimination

invasion of privacy

20.  Organizations periodically turn to _________ to meet demands for talent brought about by business growth and a desire for fresh ideas, or to replace employees who leave.

former employees

outside labor markets

entry-level employees

their subsidiaries

21.  ________________ include everything in a work environment that enhances a worker’s sense of self-respect and esteem by others.

Internal pay objectives

General business strategies

Nonfinancial rewards

Social responsibilities

22.  The Civil Rights Act of 1991 offered what for victims of unintentional discrimination?

Monetary damages and jury trials

Race-norming

Adverse impact

Affirmative action

23.  Properly designed incentive programs work because they are based on two well-accepted psychological principles: (1) increased motivation improves performance and (2)

control-based compensation

the Scanlon plan

the Rucker plan

recognition is a major factor in motivation

24.  __________ is the process where managers provide feedback to the employees regarding their past and present job performance proficiency, as well as a basis for improving performance in the future.

Selection

Recruiting

Placement

Performance management

25.  When conduction a performance feedback discussion, active listening requires

verbal communications only

interruptions to get your point across

summarizing your key points

summarizing what was said and what was agreed to

26.  What can affirmative action assist organizations in achieving that diversity initiatives cannot?

Maximizing workforce commitment

Correcting specific problems of the past

Maximizing creativity

Increased productivity

27.  In determining the competitiveness of benefits, senior management tends to focus mainly on

value

cost

security

worth

28.  What is our country’s income maintenance program?

ERISA (1974)

Social Security

PPA (2006), 401(k)

COBRA (1985)

29.  ____________ is the biggest hurdle to overcome in a pay-for-performance plan.

Salary cap performance level

Compensation equation

Inflation

Merit-pay increases

30.  To avoid legal difficulties related to performance appraisals and enhance credibility in court, employers should

present only the employee’s perspective

present only the manager’s perspective

have friends testify

document appraisal ratings and reason for termination