Question_Mathis_7Dec

1. Which is not one of the major challenges currently facing HR managers?
a. motivating employees without pay raises and promotions
b. changing federal, state and local legal requirements
c. adjusting benefit programs due to increasing costs
d. replacing “baby boomers” as they exit the workplace
2. Human resource management is
a. supervising, monitoring, controlling, and disciplining employees in order to achieve
organizational goals efficiently and effectively.
b. the designing of organizational systems to ensure that human talent is used effectively and
efficiently to accomplish organizational goals.
c. the efficient and effective use and coordination of human capital to ensure the profitability
and long-term sustainability of the organization.
d. the design of the interface between the human capital of the firm and its technological and
financial capital in order to efficiently and effectively reach organizational goals..
3. When the human resources function creates a unique capability in a firm that creates high value and
differentiates the organization from its competition, human resources is a/an ____ for the firm.
a. intangible asset
b. core competency
c. critical capability
d. strategic contributor
4. The collective value of the capabilities, knowledge, skills, life experiences and motivation of an
organizational workforce is called
a. the organization’s talent inventory.
b. total human resources.
c. human capital.
d. the organization’s intellectual assets.
5. Through the ____ function, HR management provides the organization with a sufficient supply of
qualified individuals to fill the jobs in the organization.
a. staffing
b. equal employment opportunity
c. talent management
d. employee and labor relations
6. Which of the following activities would NOT fall into the risk management function of HR?
a. Sending all employees a text message requiring them to report in to a designated
individual after an earthquake affects the city in which the company’s plant is located.
b. Negotiating with a representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) about appropriateness of a measure to reduce harmful gases in a mine.
c. Requiring employees to purchase a minimal level of life insurance when they are deployed
overseas.
d. Designing policies and procedures for a shipping firm to handle episodes of piracy and
employee hostage-taking..
7. Compensation and benefits managers in almost all organizations face a major and growing concern
regarding the cost of
a. equalization of pay between men and women.
b. incentive pay for hourly employees.
c. health-care benefits.
d. outsourcing to lower-wage countries.
8. Talent management includes which of the following activities?
a. job-skill training
b. wage and salary administration
c. diversity assessment and analysis
d. environmental scanning
9. ____ identifies paths and activities for individual employees as they develop within the organization.
a. Staffing
b. HR development
c. Equal Employment Opportunity
d. Career planning
10. A large Japanese semiconductor manufacturer is building a manufacturing plant in rural Texas. The
Japanese firm has developed a highly-effective system of motivating employees which results in high
productivity and high worker satisfaction. As an HR consultant to the Japanese firm, what should your
advice be?
a. The Japanese firm should study the local Texas culture and redesign its motivation system
for the U.S. plant.
b. The Japanese firm can implement the same motivation system in Texas and expect high
productivity and high employee satisfaction.
c. The rural Texas and Japanese cultures are so different, that there is little likelihood that a
Japanese-operated plant in Texas could be successful.
d. As long as the Japanese company’s motivation system is based on pay-for-performance,
the Texas employees will be as productive and satisfied as their Japanese counterparts.
11. The shared values and beliefs of an organization is its
a. social network.
b. ethical environment.
c. intellectual capital.
d. organizational culture.
12. Which of the following statements about organizational culture is FALSE?
a. The organization’s culture is seen in its norms of expected behaviors, values, philosophies,
rituals and symbols.
b. An organization’s rules of behavior may not be beneficial and may limit the organization’s
performance.
c. Organizational cultures are static, and tend to remain almost identical to the culture
established by the founder.
d. Values determine how organizational members treat coworkers and people outside the
organization.
13. Organizational productivity for the local Meals on Wheels charity ultimately affects the organization’s
a. total costs.
b. profitability.
c. total revenue.
d. competitiveness.
14. Unit labor cost is a measure of
a. productivity.
b. profitability.
c. sustainability.
d. efficacy.
15. Due to an urgent need to cut costs, Rotary Dial, Inc., has decided to eliminate its quarterly off-site
training conference for managers at all four of its locations with video conferencing. This reduces
travel costs significantly and allows the company to lay off two training staff. This is an example of
a. organizational restructuring.
b. aligning HR activities with organizational productivity efforts.
c. outsourcing an organizational function.
d. re-designing work.
16. From an HR perspective, the most compelling reason given below for an organization to have a
reputation for social responsibility is to
a. heighten the HR director’s reputation.
b. increase the ability to attract and retain employees.
c. increase quarterly profits.
d. improve the ability to succeed in bids for governmental contracts.
17. In the HR context, “sustainability” is defined as
a. the requirement for organizations in polluting industries, such as manufacturers and utility
companies, to reduce their impact on the environment.
b. the ability to continue to operate, survive and adjust to significant change.
c. the ability to maintain proper employee flow in, through and out of the organization.
d. the development of organizational policies and procedures that allow the organization to
continue to operate in foreign countries which have strict environmental regulation.
18. The explicit aspects of organizational culture include all of the following EXCEPT
a. training.
b. regulations.
c. sustainability.
d. policies.
19. Taking a “green” approach with HR policies can result in all of the following, EXCEPT
a. a reduction in the need for safety and health professionals in the organization.
b. reduced operational costs.
c. a positive effect on attracting, retaining and motivating employees.
d. a more strategic emphasis in the organization.
20. The customer service department of the cell phone company serving a 10-state region in the
Southwest, has a reputation of being unhelpful to customers and sometimes customer service
representatives are considered surly and rude to customers, especially to technologically- challenged
callers. The cause of this behavior by the customer-relations is most likely to be
a. the customer service department being located in New York City.
b. a lack of focus on the customer by managers and employees.
c. dissatisfied and difficult customers.
d. low pay in the customer service positions.
21. Beverly, a child care supervisor at a children’s hospital in a large urban area, communicates on a daily
basis with other employees and community contacts through tweets, texts and blogs. She sends
positive news and updates about the activities of the hospital. This social networking is not part of her
formal job responsibilities. We can say that Beverly is probably
a. exposing the hospital to violation of privacy lawsuits and should be prohibited from this
networking.
b. highly engaged with the organization.
c. looking for excuses to avoid working.
d. a contingent employee trying to impress her boss so that she will be moved to regular
employee status.
22. The extent to which employees feel linked to organizational success and how the organization
performs positively is termed
a. employee engagement.
b. employee performance motivation.
c. employee morale.
d. employee organizational commitment.
23. Whether employees and managers of an organization behave ethically is fundamentally a function of
a. professional codes of ethics.
b. the relevant laws and legal guidelines applying to the organization and its industry.
c. the employee’s level of education.
d. the organization’s culture.
24. As Director of HR, you are designing an ethics program for your organization. You plan to develop a
written code of ethics, training for all organizational members, and means for organizational members
to obtain advice on ethical situations. What critical element is missing from your plan?
a. systems for confidential reporting of misconduct.
b. a discipline system for offenders against the code of ethics.
c. designating a high-level staff position as an ethics officer.
d. ensuring that the organization’s code of ethics is not more restrictive than the relevant
laws.
25. Cisco Systems HR department instituted ethics training based on the TV show American Idol. All of
the following are advantages of this training technique EXCEPT
a. the ethics training can be available constantly.
b. employees are able to access the program during non-working hours.
c. the ability to reach large numbers of employees.
d. it facilitates face-to-face interaction of trainers and trainee-employees.
26. Arnold is the HR manager for a mid-sized engineering consulting firm. The types of ethical
misconduct he is most likely to encounter in his daily work as an HR manager include all of the
following EXCEPT
a. employees misrepresenting hours and times worked.
b. employees misusing organizational supplies.
c. collusion among Arnold’s firm and its competitors to rig bids on government contracts.
d. employees sexually harassing co-workers.
27. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. The HR function in the organization is largely insulated from unethical behaviors.
b. The HR department is largely responsible for the unethical behaviors of employees in the
organization.
c. HR management is the voice of organizational ethics.
d. HR management must focus on clearly illegal behaviors within the firm and leave ethics
up to the conscience of each individual manager.
28. In organizations, in order to decide whether certain behavior is ethical or not, a person must answer all
the following questions EXCEPT
a. Does this behavior conform to typical behavior by employees of competing organizations?
b. Does this behavior meet all applicable laws, regulations, and government codes?
c. Does this behavior meet organizational standards?
d. Does this behavior meet professional standards?
29. The roles played by HR management in the firm are being affected by all of the following EXCEPT
a. the shift from a service economy to a manufacturing economy.
b. the globalization of business.
c. cost reduction pressures.
d. an aging workforce.
30. The main pressure behind U.S. firms resulting in facility closings, international outsourcing, and
decreasing their labor costs is from
a. intense domestic competition.
b. obsolescence of plant and equipment in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
c. global competition.
d. the growth in information technology.