HR Competencies

Question 1

Money an organization owes its vendors

and suppliers

Answer 1

Accounts payable

Question 2

Money an organization’s customers owe

the organization.

Answer 2

Accounts receivable

Question 3

Data-sorting technique in which a group
categorizes and subcategories data
until relationships are clearly drawn.

Answer 3

Affinity diagramming

Question 4

Financial, physical, and sometimes
intangible properties an organization
owns.

Answer 4

Assets

Question 5

Leadership style that focuses on
challenging and developing members of
an organization to attain long-range
results through continuous evolution,
improvement, or change, based on the
leader’s vision and strategy

Answer 5

Authentic leadership

Question 6

Statement of an organization’s financial
position at a specific point in time,
showing assets, liabilities, and
shareholder equity.

Answer 6

Balance sheet

Question 7

Conscious or unconscious beliefs that
influence a person’s perceptions or
actions, which may cause that person to
become partial or prejudiced.

Answer 7

Bias

Question 8

Exchange of anything of value to gain

greater influence or preference.

Answer 8

Bribery

Question 9

Tool or document that defines a specific
problem, proposes a solution, and
provides justifications for the proposal in
terms of time, cost efficiency, and
probability of success.

Answer 9

Business case

Question 10

Raw data, internal and external to an
organization, that is translated into
meaningful information for decision
makers to use in taking strategic action.

Answer 10

Business intelligence (BI)

Question 11

Statement of an organization’s ability to
meet its current and short-term
obligations, showing incoming and
outgoing cash and cash reserves in
operations, investments, and financing.

Answer 11

Cash flow statement

Question 12

Legal system based on written codes

laws, rules, or regulations

Answer 12

Civil law

Question 13

Legal system in which each case is
considered in terms of how it relates to
legal decisions that have already been
made; evolves through judicial decisions
over time.

Answer 13

Common law

Question 14

Treatment of personal information that
has been disclosed to another person
(e.g., one’s doctor, lawyer, or financial
advisor) or organization (e.g., one’s
employer or a hospital).

Answer 14

Confidentiality

Question 15

Situation in which a person or
organization may potentially benefit,
directly or indirectly, from undue
influence, due to involvement in outside
activities, relationships, or investments
that conflict with or have an impact on
the employment relationship or its
outcomes.

Answer 15

Conflict of interest

Question 16

Tendency to enhance or diminish the
strength or credibility of a statement or
person based on one’s impression of a
preceding statement or person.

Answer 16

Contrast effect

Question 17

Type of measurement bias in which
analyst fails to recognize that individual is
responding with answers the analyst
wants to hear.

Answer 17

Cultural noise

Question 18

Concept that argues that ethical behavior
is determined by local culture, laws, and
business practices.

Answer 18

Cultural relativism

Question 19

Basic beliefs, attitudes, values,
behaviors, and customs shared and
followed by members of a group, which
give rise to the group’s sense of identity.

Answer 19

Culture

Question 20

Technique that progressively collects
information from a group without
physically assembling the contributors.

Answer 20

Delphi technique

Question 21

Process of charting a course through

cultural differences.

Answer 21

Dilemma reconciliation

Question 22

Requirement to thoroughly investigate an
action before it is taken, through diligent
research and evaluation.

Answer 22

Due diligence

Question 23

Concept that laws are enforced only

through accepted, codified procedures.

Answer 23

Due process

Question 24

Ability to be sensitive to and understand
one’s own and others’ emotions and
impulses.

Answer 24

Emotional intelligence
(EI)

Question 25

Amount of owners’ or shareholders’ | portion of a business.

Answer 25

Equity

Question 26

Concept that argues that there are fundamental ethical principles that apply across cultures.

Answer 26

Ethical universalism

Question 27

Extension of the power of a country’s laws over its citizens outside that country’s sovereign national boundaries.

Answer 27

Extraterritoriality

Question 28

Type of measurement bias in which investigator makes snap judgments and lets first impression (either positive or negative) cloud subsequent evaluation.

Answer 28

First-impression error

Question 29

Small group of invited persons (typically six to twelve) who actively participate in a structured discussion, led by a facilitator, for the purpose of eliciting their input on a specific product, process, policy, or program.

Answer 29

Focus group

Question 30

Ability to have an international perspective, inclusive of other cultures' views.

Answer 30

Global mindset

Question 31

Ratio of gross profit to net sales.

Answer 31

Gross profit margin

Question 32

``` Type of measurement bias in which analyst allows one strong point that he or she values highly and that works in subject’s favor to overshadow all other information. ```

Answer 32

Halo effect

Question 33

``` Society or group characterized by complex, usually long-standing networks of relationships; members share a rich history of common experience, so the way they interact and interpret events is often not apparent to outsiders. ```

Answer 33

High-context culture

Question 34

``` Type of measurement bias in which analyst allows one strong point that he or she values highly and that works against subject to overshadow all other information. ```

Answer 34

Horn effect

Question 35

Statement that reports revenues, expenses, and profits for a specified period of time, for example, quarterly or annually.

Answer 35

Income statement

Question 36

Capacity to recognize, interpret, and behaviorally adapt to multicultural situations and contexts; also called cultural intelligence.

Answer 36

Intercultural wisdom

Question 37

Right of a legal body to exert authority over a given geographical territory, subject matter, or persons or institutions.

Answer 37

Jurisdiction

Question 38

Quantifiable measures of performance that gauge an organization’s progress toward strategic objectives or other agreed-upon performance standards.

Answer 38

Key performance | indicators (KPIs)

Question 39

Organization’s debts and other financial | obligations.

Answer 39

Liabilities

Question 40

``` Society in which relationships have less history; individuals know each other less well and don’t share a common database of experience, so communication must be very explicit. ```

Answer 40

Low-context culture

Question 41

Average score or value.

Answer 41

Mean

Question 42

Middle number in a range of values.

Answer 42

Median

Question 43

Data-sorting technique in which group members add related ideas and indicate logical connections, eventually grouping similar ideas.

Answer 43

Mind mapping

Question 44

Value that occurs most frequently in a set | of data.

Answer 44

Mode

Question 45

Factors that initiate, direct, and sustain | human behavior over time.

Answer 45

Motivation

Question 46

Type of measurement bias that involves weighting a small negative reaction or piece of information more than it should objectively merit.

Answer 46

Negative emphasis

Question 47

Process by which two or more parties work together to reach agreement on a matter.

Answer 47

Negotiation

Question 48

Ratio of net income (gross sales minus | expenses and taxes) to net sales.

Answer 48

Net profit margin

Question 49

Process of developing mutually beneficial contacts through the exchange of information.

Answer 49

Networking

Question 50

``` Technique in which participants each suggest ideas through a series of rounds and then discuss the items, eliminate redundancies and irrelevancies, and agree on the importance of the remaining items. ```

Answer 50

Nominal group technique

Question 51

The basic beliefs and customs shared by members of an organization that contribute to the organization’s sense of its identity.

Answer 51

Organizational culture

Question 52

Using relationships between data in financial statements to measure the financial health of an organization.

Answer 52

Ratio analysis

Question 53

Statistical method used to determine whether a relationship exists between variables and the strength of the relationship.

Answer 53

Regression analysis

Question 54

Extent to which a measurement | instrument provides consistent results.

Answer 54

Reliability

Question 55

Type of analysis that starts with a result and then works backward to identify fundamental cause.

Answer 55

Root-cause analysis

Question 56

Concept that stipulates that no individual is beyond the reach of the law and that authority is exercised only in accordance with written and publicly disclosed laws.

Answer 56

Rule of law

Question 57

Statistical method used to test the possible effects of altering the details of a strategy to see if the likely outcome can be improved.

Answer 57

Scenario/what-if analysis

Question 58

Ability to create connections or rapport | with others.

Answer 58

Social intelligence

Question 59

``` Concept that proposes that any organization operates within a complex environment in which it affects and is affected by a variety of forces or stakeholders who all share in the value of the organization and its activities. ```

Answer 59

Stakeholder concept

Question 60

Generalized opinions about how people of a given gender, race, religion, age, education level, job type, or national origin look, think, act, feel, or respond.

Answer 60

Stereotyping

Question 61

System of actions that leaders take to drive an organization toward its goals and objectives.

Answer 61

Strategic management

Question 62

Process of setting goals and designing a | path toward organizational success.

Answer 62

Strategic planning

Question 63

Plan of action for accomplishing an organization’s overall and long-range goals.

Answer 63

Strategy

Question 64

``` Leadership style that focuses on challenging and developing members of an organization to attain long-range results through continuous evolution, improvement, or change, based on the leader’s vision and strategy. ```

Answer 64

Transformation | leadership

Question 65

``` Extent to which an organization’s agreements, dealings, information, practices, and transactions are open to disclosure and review by relevant persons. ```

Answer 65

Transparency

Question 66

Statistical method that examines data from different points in time to determine if a variance is an isolated event or if it is part of a longer trend.

Answer 66

Trend analysis

Question 67

Raw average of data that gives equal weight to all values, with no regard for other factors.

Answer 67

Unweighted average

Question 68

Extent to which a measurement instrument measures what it is intended to measure.

Answer 68

Validity

Question 69

The benefit created when an organization meets its strategic goals; measure of usefulness, worth, or importance.

Answer 69

Value

Question 70

The process by which an organization creates the product or service it offers to the customer.

Answer 70

Value chain

Question 71

Statistical method for identifying the degree of difference between planned and actual performance or outcomes.

Answer 71

Variance analysis

Question 72

Average of data that adds factors to | reflect the importance of different values.

Answer 72

Weighted average