Question_DOC2_12Dec_4th
1. The focus on talent management has intensified in the last few years due to all of the following factors
EXCEPT
a. shortages of skilled workers.
b. increasing global competition for employees.
c. technology enabling the automation of talent management process.
d. the obsolescence of baby boomers’ skills.
2. ____ is concerned with the attraction, development and retention of human resources.
a. HR planning
b. Training and development
c. The HR flow process
d. Talent management
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Because of the conversion of the U.S. economy from a manufacturing economy to a
service-based economy, the need for skilled manufacturing workers will continue to
decline.
b. U.S. employers will lose over 10% of their current workforce by 2010 as baby boomers
retire.
c. China and Brazil have rapidly growing populations with increasingly high quality
education systems. Consequently, these countries will be “exporting” their skilled labor to
the U.S. and Europe through outsourcing.
d. The focus of talent management is limited to key executives, high contributors, and high
potential employees.
4. Talent management includes all of the following HR activities EXCEPT
a. training.
b. job design.
c. career planning.
d. performance management.
5. You have been hired by a national accounting firm to lead the firm’s talent management program. In
order to evaluate the existing talent management program and how well it is linked to organizational
strategy, you would seek data on all the following issues EXCEPT
a. Do the employees feel that the organization’s culture values people as individuals?
b. Does the organization have an effective upward communication system?
c. Have the future staffing needs of the firm been identified?
d. Is there a pool of talented people who are ready to move into new positions as the
positions become open?
6. A common problem with talent management information systems is that
a. they are often purchased “off-the-shelf” from vendors and so are not useful for the firm.
b. they mainly provide the same information as an HR planning system so that the extra
expense brings little additional benefit.
c. few human resources professionals are qualified to use them effectively.
d. multiple programs are not integrated with each other.
7. As a tool for development needs analysis, performance appraisals are most useful in evaluating
a. leadership style.
b. employee reasoning skills.
c. motivation.
d. job knowledge.
8. A good automated talent management system could be expected to answer the question
a. Is the compensation for regional sales managers competitive?
b. How many of the HR staff have their PHR certifications?
c. Has the incidence of discrimination complaints per employee declined over the last 10
years?
d. Which vendor’s proposed training program will be most effective for teaching budgeting
skills to newly-promoted line managers?
9. If talent management is effective in a firm
a. the voluntary turnover among the high potential employees will be essentially zero.
b. the quantity and quality of the HR talent pool will be the deepest in the industry.
c. the cost of labor in the firm will be the lowest of its direct competitors.
d. the firm will have the right people with the right talents available at the right time in the
right places.
10. In comparison to people who graduated from college twenty years ago, current college graduate
entering the job market can expect all of the following EXCEPT
a. less job security.
b. fewer job opportunities.
c. a higher likelihood of being a freelancer.
d. more frequent job changes.
11. Ernest has always been a person who has said “People make their own luck.” Throughout his career he
has taken charge of his personal career goals. But lately his industry has been rocked by bankruptcies
of major competitors and his own employer has had several episodes of layoffs among the hourly
ranks. Now, managers are being laid off and Ernest knows he will be in the next group to be cut.
Ernest is probably experiencing
a. some insecurity.
b. denial.
c. an enhanced sense of personal control.
d. a sense of renewed opportunities.
12. As the HR director of a small speciality engineering consulting firm, you can expect
a. your most valuable engineers to be the most likely to have frequent job offers from other
companies and likely to quit to join other firms.
b. your most valuable engineers to be the most difficult to manage because of their “prima
donna” attitudes.
c. the highest turnover to be among average and below-average performing engineers
because the engineering skills shortage assures them of finding another, better job
elsewhere.
d. you can retain talented engineers even if the workplace is undesirable if you pay high
enough.
13. The result of flexibility in careers is ____ for employees.
a. job insecurity
b. occupational security
c. high demand
d. work/life balance
14. The trend in careers is for
a. individuals to choose careers based on life-time earning potential.
b. people to dedicate themselves to achieving success in one occupation.
c. people to use them to satisfy individual needs.
d. technical capabilities to be more valuable in long-term success than purely management
capabilities.
15. A/an ____ is a sequence of work-related positions a person occupies throughout life.
a. career
b. job ladder
c. profession
d. occupation
16. A sequence of jobs in which an individual joins a national news magazine as a staff reporter, then is
promoted to technology reporter, then to editor of the business department, then to deputy managing
editor, would be an example of
a. a non-traditional career path.
b. organization-centered career planning.
c. job-hopping.
d. a series of career transitions.
17. The HR department at Cabildo Utilities is planning an internal career day which will feature
workshops on various careers at Cabildo Utilities, opportunities for work in Cabildo’s overseas
locations, and presentations by HR staff on training and development opportunities available at
Cabildo. This is an example of
a. individual-based career development.
b. an organization-centered career planning tool.
c. career mapping.
d. training and development outreach.
18. Over the past 15 years Bob has held seven different jobs with three different employers, one of which
was in the non-profit sector. Of the seven jobs, three were horizontal moves rather than upward moves.
Bob chose each job because it would increase his skills and would be interesting and rewarding rather
than whether the job would advance him up the organizational hierarchy. Which of the following
statements is TRUE?
a. Bob has had a dysfunctional career because of his frequent changes of employers.
b. Bob’s job experiences can be considered a career path.
c. Bob is in a career plateau because he has not steadily risen in organizational hierarchy or
occupational status.
d. Bob has had a linear career even though he has changed organizations because he has
remained in the same occupation.
19. The key activities in individual career management include all of the following EXCEPT
a. self-promotion.
b. feedback on reality.
c. setting of career goals.
d. self-assessment.
20. Josh is 32 years old. He worked for one organization for seven years after graduating with a bachelor’s
degree. He received three promotions in that time. Since then, he was “downsized” out of the
organization, and is working part-time at a video store while pursuing an MBA at night. Josh is
experiencing
a. a career plateau.
b. a career transition.
c. career sequencing.
d. career retrogression.
21. Web sites that list careers in the organization
a. mainly target external applicants.
b. tend to encourage unqualified internal applicants to apply for jobs.
c. should tap both the internal and external labor pool.
d. limit the number of applicants for jobs because many people do not have access to
computers.
22. Individual-centered career planning focuses on
a. the employee’s life and work goals.
b. identifying the organization’s future staffing needs.
c. succession planning for key positions.
d. the logical progression of people through jobs in an organization.
23. Clark has wanted to be a broadcast reporter since he was a kid watching Wolf Blitzer’s war reporting.
He got a degree in broadcast journalism and has been working two years as a reporter for the local
news in a medium-sized Western city. Clark’s boss has given him discouraging performance
appraisals at the last two evaluation periods. In addition, surveys show that the news show’s audience
gives Clark a mediocre rating. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Clark probably did not set clear career goals with timetables and plans for getting the
training and experience he needed.
b. Clark’s socioeconomic background has probably set him up to fail. Successful broadcast
journalists usually come from upper-class or Ivy-League backgrounds.
c. Clark has gotten feedback on reality which he should use in his career planning.
d. If Clark took the Strong Interest Inventory it would probably show that he does not truly
have an interest in broadcast journalism.
24. In part, people choose their careers based on their interests. ____ is/are tools to help people identify
their interests, what they do well, what they like, and their strengths and weaknesses.
a. Performance appraisals
b. Self-assessment tests
c. Career goal-setting
d. Envisioning
25. Which of the following components of individual career choice is most likely to change as a person
matures? This means that the career the individual first selected may not be appropriate as time passes.
a. socioeconomic background
b. interests
c. self-image
d. personality
26. Ambrose is discussing his college major with his best friend. Ambrose says that his parents want him
to be a CPA just like they are and to join their prosperous tax practice when he graduates. “But,”
Ambrose says, “I just can’t SEE myself as an accountant!” Which of the following statements is most
likely to be true?
a. Ambrose should take a self-assessment test to see if he is really not interested in tax
accounting.
b. Ambrose’s self image is not compatible with a career as an accountant.
c. Ambrose needs feedback on reality because he is prematurely ruling out a desirable and
lucrative career.
d. Ambrose should not make a firm decision to avoid tax accounting at this stage of his
education because his career goals will probably change.
27. Which of the following is TRUE?
a. Linear career paths are a thing of the past. Most people will experience periods of
plateauing and career reverses rather than steady advancement.
b. A person’s early career is marked by stability, but his/her later career is marked by
frequent job changes as the individual disengages from the work world.
c. In the U.S. the socioeconomic class in which a person is born has little impact on his/her
eventual career.
d. A person’s interests are stable over their lifetime.
28. If a person who is looking for a job has a number of organizations to choose from and has quite of bit
of information available about these organizations, the person will tend to choose to work for
a. the organization offering the highest salary.
b. the organization that offers the greatest opportunities for training and development in the
person’s occupation.
c. the organization that seems to have the best fit between its climate and the individual’s
characteristics, interests and needs.
d. the organization that offers the greatest potential for career advancement within the
organization.
29. Gerald is confused as to why his 28-year-old daughter is changing jobs for the third time since she
graduated from college. His daughter told Gerald that she’s learned everything she could from her
current job and that it’s time to move on. Gerald’s daughter is in the stage of her career where most
people need to
a. gain competence and learn how they can make a mark on the world.
b. focus on making a good income.
c. achieve personal integrity and incorporate their values into their work life.
d. establish their political power base within their organization.
30. Carla is 52. She has been laid off twice in her life, once when her employer downsized, and once when
her next employer was acquired by a larger rival. Now she has hit a career plateau after five years with
her current employer. Carla is rather frustrated. Each time she has changed employers, she has
“retooled” and acquired more skills and expanded her knowledge base. When talking to a career
counselor at her employer, the counselor suggested Carla view her career as
a. a rollercoaster.
b. cyclical.
c. dysfunctional.
d. lateral.
31. A career plateau occurs when a/an
a. employee cannot advance within the organization.
b. working mother decides to use job sequencing.
c. employee becomes burned out and unmotivated.
d. employee’s skills have become obsolete.
32. Kevin is a member of the board of directors for a non-profit organization that is engaged in
environmental causes. The group does fund-raising, legislative lobbying, and publicizes the need for
action to reduce pollution. With his knowledge of the general periods in the typical person’s career,
Kevin knows that the organization should look to recruit new full-time employees
a. among people who are in their early career stages because they tend to be idealistic.
b. among people in the mid-career stage because they are open to changes in their lifestyles.
c. among people in the second half of their life because they are more likely to be focused on
their inner values than on external wealth and status.
d. among retirees because they are looking for second careers that are both satisfying and
intellectually demanding.
33. For the organization, unless a plateaued employee is a poorly-used resource, a major reason plateaued
employees may be a problem is that
a. if they develop negative attitudes, the plateaued employees may affect co-worker morale.
b. the turnover rate among plateaued employees is excessive.
c. plateaued employees tend to have higher compensation than justified by their contribution
to the organization.
d. plateaued employees are typically poor performers.
34. Which of the following is TRUE about career plateaus.
a. High-performers do not encounter career plateaus.
b. An employee in a career plateau can typically only move out of it if he/she changes
organizations.
c. Career plateaus are unusual because most careers involve steady upward progression.
d. A career plateau can allow an employee to learn new skills that will increase his/her future
marketability.
35. A pre-retirement planning seminar for persons about to retire should address all of the following issues
EXCEPT ____ after retirement
a. anxiety about finances.
b. the need for self-direction
c. how to achieve a sense of belongingness
d. effective time management
36. A significant portion of the long-service employees at Anovator, Inc., is reaching retirement age. As
HR director, you realize that it will be a significant loss for the firm as well as a succession-planning
nightmare if most of these retirees actually leave the firm at age 65. You would like to implement a
phased-retirement program to allow the firm to adjust more slowly. But, one of the major impediments
to successfully using this plan is
a. few people want to work after age 65, so not enough of your older employees would
choose phased retirement.
b. current pension law.
c. opposition to phased retirement by the American Association of Retired Persons
d. phased retirement plans are vulnerable to age discrimination lawsuits.
37. Paul has been in his first job for two months. He is very dissatisfied with his unsupportive supervisor,
the lack of specific feedback, the project deadline which is six months off, and the “vagueness” of his
job. While these are real concerns, Paul may also be feeling
a. a sense of boundarylessness
b. failed orientation
c. new-job remorse
d. entry shock
38. Eva, a professional employee in her 30s, has been offered a transfer to a new department. Although
this move is lateral, the transfer will open up possibilities for advancement that were lacking in her
current job. Eva realizes that
a. she will be expected to perform well immediately in this new job.
b. the transfer will probably entail a significant raise.
c. this will be a stressful transition, and she should be prepared to experience some
depression, anxiety and nervousness.
d. should not accept a lateral transfer because it will stifle her opportunity to learn new skills.
39. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Now that women are in the workforce in nearly the same proportion as men, the
differences between men’s and women’s careers are expected to disappear by 2010.
b. The population of women who wish to work full-time has been almost completely tapped.
“Female-friendly” employment policies will be needed in order to recruit women who are
interested in part-time work.
c. The average woman who has been out of school for six years has worked 30% less time
than the average man who has been out of school the same amount of time.
d. Job sequencing has proven to be a successful career tactic for women wishing to combine
work and family, since impacts on career advancement are minimal.
40. In order to reward talented technical people who do not want to move into management, many
companies have established
a. dual career ladders.
b. portable career paths.
c. phased retirement plans.
d. job rotation programs.
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Rating:
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Solution: Question_DOC2_12Dec_4th - Answer