business managment data bank

26. Small businesses have grown over the last decade. This growth may be attributed to a number of factors, including:

a) minorities breaking the glass ceiling.

b) the increase in “intrapreneurship” in large corporations.

c) large corporations becoming less attractive places to work, due to layoffs and fewer

management opportunities.

d) the growth and development of organizational cultures because of extensive

restructuring in American corporations.

e) the globalization of the marketplace.

27. New businesses start every year. These start-ups are risky ventures, as nearly

____ fail in their first year of operation.

a) 10%

b) 25%

c) 35%

d) 40%

e) 50%

28. Out of the number of small businesses that start every year, only _______ will survive a decade.

a) 5%

b) 10%

c) 15%

d) 20%

e) 25%

29. Organizational culture:

a) is often shaped by HRM practices.

b) can be defined in terms of the right or wrong culture.

c) is made up of a number of elements such as norms, behaviors, values, etc.

d) refers to basic assumptions and beliefs shared by members of an organization.

e) is the non-pervasive climate or atmosphere within which people work.

30. An organization’s culture consists of a number of separate elements, such as:

a) technology use.

b) ethical dilemmas.

c) labor unions.

d) employee work habits.

e) the working environment climate or feel.

31. A company’s organization culture does NOT manifest in:

a) the relationships among the employees.

b) worker safety.

c) the employees’ uniforms, or lack thereof.

d) organizational challenges.

e) pay for performance.

32. The increased use of technology for telecommuting raises a number of issues for

human resources, such as:

a) privacy rights regarding the data used by telecommuters.

b) more layers of management to watch/monitor telecommuters.

c) monitoring performance and overtime pay.

d) outsourcing work rather than using fulltime employees.

e) labor costs, as telecommuting is quite expensive.

33. A critical ethical issue for HR managers related to technology use in work

environments is:

a) the increase in authoritarian management due to organizational restructuring.

b) the improper use of proprietary data.

c) self-managed work teams misusing technology to their own personal ends.

d) overly close supervision of technology users.

e) “window sitting.”

34. The impact of technology on organizational structure can be seen in the:

a) return of pyramidal structure due to the ease of transferring information between

levels.

b) increase in authoritarian management in order to control access to technology and

information.

c) changing nature of labor relations.

d) decrease in employees working at home.

e) ability of top management to bypass middle managers and deal directly with first-

line managers.

35. Since companies can now monitor their employees’ use of the Internet and e-mail, which of the following is a legislative concern?

a) The decrease in employee productivity.

b) Privacy issues regarding individuals.

c) The “fuzzy line” between what could be seen as obscene to some people but

harmless slang to others.

d) The use of this information to plan surprise birthday parties for employees.

e) The potential for the information to be used to compile mailing lists for different

corporations.

36. Knott’s Construction builds one house every month. Mr. Knotts and Scott perform

all the structural work themselves while they subcontract the plumbing and electrical work. This subcontracting is an example of:

a) organizational restructuring.

b) the rise of the service sector.

c) the growth of the small business.

d) time efficiency.

e) outsourcing.

37. Outsourcing presents a number of challenges to Human Resources in that:

a) it raises labor costs while lowering production costs.

b) a firm is still accountable for the actions of its subcontractors, but it exercises less

control over them.

c) employees require close monitoring by HRM, as subcontractors tend to take on less

work than they can handle, meaning more subcontractors doing less work.

d) it increases customer use of service centers because customers tend to be

more satisfied with subcontractors than with regular employee service

representatives.

e) all of the above

38. Rudy is writing a report about the individual challenges his firm is facing. Which of the following would Rudy NOT include in his report?

a) use of an employee’s credit history in determining her competency.

b) whether to increase fit between employees and their jobs.

c) whether to discipline an employee for excessive use of the Internet.

d) whether to outsource a specific job to a firm with more employees.

e) how to determine individuals’ performance in their respective jobs.

39. The relationship of the individual challenges HRM faces to the organizational

challenges HRM faces:

a) is one of little, if any, importance.

b) is one of reciprocity. Each affects the other.

c) is relevant in only a few challenges.

d) is similar to the relationship of labor relations to the use of technology.

e) poses a significant ethical dilemma to HR managers.

40. The matching of people to the organization, not just to a job, is:

a) important, but not the critical task it was once thought to be since studies show

that personality has little to do with success.

b) creating ethical dilemmas for corporations in today’s legal environment.

c) a significant part of an organization’s social responsibility.

d) getting easier through the use of technology.

e) increasingly important as studies show executive personalities as well as their

competencies can affect company performance.

41. A study of small high-technology firms shows that they should hire people who are:

a) very well organized and structured.

b) experienced in administration and organization since the company will probably lack these skills.

c) able to handle high uncertainty and rapid change in exchange for the satisfaction of

possible future payoffs.

d) experienced in working with large corporations, preparing the company for its

transition to be a major player in its market.

e) technically competent and should disregard personality issues.

42. Creating and implementing ethics codes has generally:

a) significantly decreased the number of ethical issues being raised in companies.

b) made decision making for managers much more clear cut.

c) increased employee satisfaction with management.

d) caused an actual increase in ethical violations within companies.

e) caused employees to see their managers as acting in ways inconsistent with these

ethical codes.

43. When it comes to managers dealing with ethical issues, it is safe to say that:

a) what is ethical or unethical is seldom clear cut.

b) issues clearly resolve themselves into right and wrong choices.

c) the implementation of ethical codes has significantly helped managers with their

ethical struggles.

d) employee expectations are on the decline.

e) business, unlike other areas of life, generally has clear choices about what to do or

not to do in ethical situations.

44. Karl is trying to improve company productivity by focusing on employee competence.

Karl is focusing on the _____ factor of productivity.

a) motivation

b) ethical

c) quality of work life

d) empowerment

e) ability

45. You are talking with a manager about one of his employees, Tom. The manager

describes Tom as a person who has a strong desire to do the best possible job and put

in the maximum effort to perform his assigned tasks. The manager is describing

Tom’s:

a) abilities.

b) capabilities.

c) motivation.

d) career path.

e) productivity level.

46. One goal of empowerment is:

a) to decrease employee dependence on superiors.

b) to let managers create distance from the employees.

c) to encourage employees to take more responsibility for their own work.

d) to emphasize external control in the function of the company.

e) a and c

47. One of your best MIS people left to work for a competitor. When she left, she took with her a partially completed proposal for an enhanced MIS system that would reduce costs and increase the speed of handling information. You’ve just experienced:

a) empowerment.

b) an organizational restructuring.

c) a competitive advantage.

d) brain drain.

e) the results of the glass ceiling.

48. Many profitable American companies eliminate jobs ever year. This trend can be

attributed to which of the following factors?

a) The need for fewer service and production workers in a more technological society.

b) The increasing dissatisfaction of firms with long-term employees.

c) Increasing competition in industry.

d) Companies’ need for more diverse work communities.

e) Increasing union membership.

49. Strategic Human Resource Planning is:

a) the process of responding appropriately to HRM problems as they arise.

b) the process of winning the commitment of line management to support HRM

practices.

c) the process of formulating HR strategies and establishing programs to implement

them.

d) largely the responsibility of HRM professionals with minimal input by line

management.

e) a dying practice as more companies move to TQM.

50. Strategic Human Resource Planning provides a number of benefits to a company, such as:

a) providing strategies for responding to problems and crises as they arise.

b) relieving middle managers of their HRM responsibilities.

c) blurring the difference between line and staff management.

d) reducing costs by diversifying the company’s goals and objectives.

e) helping to identify the gap between a company’s current situation and vision.