Human Resource Management Human Resources Assignment

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 1

Instructions: Your completed Take-Home Essay Exam must be submitted via Blackboard

Assignments, no later than 5:00 PM on Sunday, March 30, 2025. Submit one WORD file for the

entire exam. Answer all parts of the question. This is an individual assignment.

1. Answer every question on this exam (8 questions). Each question is worth 36 points.

2. Maximum Number of Pages = four (4), 8 ½” x 11” pages for the entire exam. Please submit

no more than three pages of answers to the questions and no more than one page of references.

Pages beyond the page limit will not be graded.

3. Paper Format (Failure to follow ALL Formatting Instructions: Grade = ZERO).

(Also refer to the sample exam template that is posted on BB, Course Materials):

• Margins: 1-inch (top, bottom, sides)

• Font: 12-point

• Spacing within each question: Single-space (indent new paragraphs)

• Spacing between questions: Double-space

• Page numbers: Include page numbers on every page.

• Header (on every page): ▪ your full name (upper left-hand side of paper, line one)

▪ Course and section number (upper right-hand side of paper, line one)

▪ Mid-Term Exam, Spring 2025 (upper right-hand side of paper line two)

• Subheadings: The Question # should appear at the beginning of each response. DO

NOT re-write the entire question.

4. References and Citations.

• References are limited to those listed on the Mid-Term Exam, unless specified (e.g., personal

example). All exam references are posted on BB (Course Materials, Assignments & Exams).

• APA=American Psychological Association: http://apastyle.apa.org

• APA direct quote example: “Innovation is the process whereby new ideas are generated that

create value for an organization” (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 10).

• APA paraphrase example: New idea generation that creates value for an organization is

referred to as innovation (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025).

• Example of quotes from online sources with no page numbers: “To directly quote from

written material that does not contain page numbers (e.g., webpages and websites, some

ebooks), provide readers [with section or paragraph numbers]” (Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 273). An example follows. “Much like the

accommodation one makes for an adored pair of shoes that hurt, travelers appear to be slowly

finding peace with paying for checked baggage and the other fees that have become a critical

part of the airline business model” (Bachman, 2014, para. 1).

• Names of the authors for your textbook should be listed in the order shown on the textbook

for the first citation, then for subsequent citations use: Valentine et al., 2025.

• Refer to the following link for assistance with in-text citations of material without page

numbers (e.g., your course e-book). The link is also available in Course Materials.

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations/no-page-numbers

5. BSU Writing Center. https://www.bowiestate.edu/academics/colleges/college-of-arts-and-

sciences/departments/language-literature-and-cultural-studies/writing-center/

6. Definitions. When asked for definitions, provide concise, brief definitions from your course

textbook (Valentine et al., 2025), or other readings as specified.

7. Grading Rubric. Posted on BB (Assignments & Exams, Mid-Term Exam)

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 2

References

Bowie State University Academic Computing Training for Students (n.d.). Academic computing

training for students: Blackboard Learn ULTRA student orientation. Bowie State

University.

https://bowiestate.edu/about/administration-and-governance/division-of-academic-

affairs/academic-computing-and-online-course-support/lms-and-instructional-tools-

training-for-students.php

Bowie State University Core Values (n.d.). Core values. Bowie State University.

https://bowiestate.edu/about/at-a-glance/core-values.php

Horowitz, D. (2011, May). We need a "moral operating system" [Video File].

TEDxSiliconValley.

https://www.ted.com/talks/damon_horowitz_we_need_a_moral_operating_system?langu

age=en

John, O. P. (2000). The Big Five personality test. The Big Five Project.

http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

O*NET Online (n.d.). O*NET Online. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.onetonline.org/

Valentine, S. R., Meglich, P. A., Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2025). Human Resources

Management (17th ed.). Boston MA: Cengage Learning.

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 3

Question #1 (Chapter One): Watch the Damon Horowitz (2011, May) TED Talk video (Course

Materials, Videos, and Podcasts).

“Closely linked with the strategic role of HR is the way managers and HR staff influence the

ethics of employees, as well as the ethical practices of organizations as a whole” (Valentine,

Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 22).

Horowitz (2011) instructed his audience to "Think of the last time you had a decision to make

where you were worried to do the right thing. Where you wondered, 'What should I be

doing'? Bring that to mind, and now reflect on that and say, 'How did I come up [with] that

decision?' 'What did I do'?"

• Describe a prior situation (i.e., dilemma, decision) at work that required you to do the

right thing.

• How did you use one of the below-listed actions to do the right thing?

• How did your manager and/or HR staff influence your ethics?

1. Followed my gut feeling

2. Had somebody vote on it

3. Sought legal counsel

4. Evaluated what would maximize pleasure and minimize pain

5. Used reason to figure out what would be intrinsically right

6. Other __________ (fill in the blank)

Question #2 (Chapter Two): Organizational core values are the “principles that create the

operating philosophy for organizational decisions” (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, &

Jackson,2025, p. 39). The core values of Bowie State University (BSU) are excellence,

inclusivity, integrity, accountability, and innovation (Bowie State University Core Values, n.d.).

• Choose one of BSU’s core values and describe how you have observed it being enacted

(i.e., performed, represented, portrayed) at BSU.

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 4

Question #3 (Chapter Three): Disparate treatment “occurs when individuals with particular

characteristics that are not job-related are treated differently from others” (Valentine, Meglich,

Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 80). “Hostile environment sexual harassment occurs when an

individual’s work performance or psychological well-being is unreasonably affected by

intimidating or offensive working conditions” (Valentine et al., 2025, p. 92).

“…[A] group of male employees [have decided to go] to a strip club after work… If they invite a

female colleague to attend, she may be uncomfortable, and the experience could be used as

evidence to support a hostile work environment claim. If they try to avoid the hostile work

environment claim by excluding the woman, the exclusion may serve as evidence of a “boys’

club” in a gender discrimination claim” (Segal, 2008, para. 37).

• What should the group of male employees in this situation do to reduce a potential liability

for hostile environment sexual harassment?

• What should the male employees in this situation do to reduce a potential liability for

allegations of disparate treatment?

Question #4 (Chapter Four): “A job description identifies a job’s tasks, duties, and

responsibilities. It describes what is done, why it is done, where it is done, and, briefly, how it is

done” (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 147).

• Provide a job description for your current job (or former job) that includes ALL of the

following sections (Valentine et al., 2025).

a. Identification

b. General summary

c. Essential job functions and duties

d. Job specifications.

Refer to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET Online, n.d.) or your employer, if needed, for supplemental information. Sample job descriptions are in Figure 4- 11 and Appendix A of your Valentine et al. (2025) textbook.

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 5

Question #5 (Chapter Five): “Retaining top talent is a concern for many employers, and

understanding retention is the key to keeping more of those top performers” (Valentine, Meglich,

Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 180). “Figure 5-10 illustrates some of the drivers of retention, or areas

in which employers can take action to increase the probability of keeping employees” (Valentine

et al., 2025, p. 181).

• Choose one of the six drivers of retention (Valentine et al., 2025).

• Explain how your one chosen driver of retention has influenced your decision to stay at

your current place of employment.

• Make sure that you name your current place of employment.

Question #6 (Chapter Six): Recruitment is the “process of generating a pool of qualified

applicants for organizational jobs” (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 198). Job

posting, organizational databases, and employee-focused recruiting are common methods of

internal recruiting (Valentine et al., 2025). Media sources, competitive recruiting sources,

employment agencies, labor unions, job fairs and creative recruiting, and educational institutions

and recruiting are common methods of external recruiting (Valentine et al., 2025).

• Which recruitment method(s) did you utilize to obtain your current job? Why?

• Make sure that you identify your current job.

• If you currently do not have a job, then which recruitment method(s) do you plan to utilize

to obtain a future job? Why?

Question #7 (Chapter Seven): “One of the most widely accepted approaches to studying

personality traits is the ‘Big Five’ personality framework. The Big Five traits are generally

considered to be useful predictors of various types of job performance in different occupations.

The factors are shown in Figure 7-7” (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 251).

• Complete the Big Five Personality Test (John, 2000). There are no right or wrong answers

to the Big Five Personality Test (John, 2020), which is available on BB (Assignments &

Tests/Exams).

a. Provide your scores for two of the traits/characteristics: extroversion, agreeableness,

conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience.

b. Describe how these two traits/characteristics provide support for your belief that your

personality either is, or is not, a good fit for your chosen career field.

c. Make sure that you identify your chosen career field.

Human Resources Management (MGMT 471-102), Spring 2025

Mid-Term Exam (Chapters #1 - #8)

Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson (2025)

• Answer every question on this exam (8 questions).

• Submission deadline: Sunday, 3/30/25 (5:00 PM) 6

Question #8 (Chapter Eight): Participate in the BSU Academic Computing Training for

Students: Asynchronous (self-paced) training - Blackboard Learn ULTRA Student Orientation

(Bowie State University Academic Computing Training for Students, n.d.). The weblink is

available on BB (Course Materials).

“Training can be designed to meet many objectives and can be classified in various ways”

(Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2025, p. 283). Figure 8-3 shows four types of training:

legally required, basic/remedial skills, job/technical, and soft skills (Valentine et al., 2025).

“A widely used model by Donald L. Kirkpatrick identified four levels at which training can be

evaluated. As shown in Figure 8-12, they are reaction, learning, behaviors, and results (Valentine

et al., 2025, p. 305).

• Which type of training category does the asynchronous Blackboard Learn ULTRA Student

Orientation training best fit: legally required, basic/remedial skills, job/technical, and soft

skills? Why?

• Describe how you would use one of the levels of training evaluation to assess the

asynchronous Blackboard Learn ULTRA Student Orientation training that you participated

in.