Midcourse Exam

Question 1

The senior human resource officer in an organization is typically

Answer 1

an HR Generalist.

Question 2

When HR managers are called upon to guide an organizational development intervention, they filling the role of

Answer 2

change agent.

Question 3

Being a successful human resource generalist requires

Answer 3

a broad comprehensive knowledge of all human resource functions.

Question 4

A company generally needs a separate staff position to handle HR functions when it reaches what size?

Answer 4

100 Employees

Question 5

Which of the following is not typically considered an HR function?

Answer 5

Line management

Question 6

What is a company’s legal responsibility regarding policy manuals and employee handbooks?

Answer 6

The company has an obligation to follow their written policies.

Question 7

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding employee handbooks?

Answer 7

An employee handbook should include a statement indicating that it is a legal binding document.

Question 8

When the human resource department conducts employee orientation training for new employees, it is filling its

Answer 8

service role.

Question 9

Which of the following is the best advice for companies regarding employees’ personal blogs?

Answer 9

Employers should read and respond to their employees’ personal blogs regarding work-place issues.

Question 10

Staffing involves which three major activities?

Answer 10

HR planning, recruiting, and selection

Question 11

If an organization was experiencing a short-term labor surplus, which of the following would be the BEST method for reducing the size of the workforce?

Answer 11

Reduced hours

Question 12

Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between business planning and HR planning?

Answer 12

Business plans and HR plans should be developed simultaneously.

Question 13

A forecasting method that uses turnover and transfer data from a previous period to predict future movement is called

Answer 13

Markov analysis

Question 14

In a turnover analysis, HR managers should be MOST concerned about turnover caused by

Answer 14

discharge or layoffs.

Question 15

Human resource plans are MOST useful when they identify the anticipated employment needs for

Answer 15

job categories of jobs with similar skill, responsibility, and education.

Question 16

The long-range forecasting method that is based on an aggregate of the estimates of each division manager is called

Answer 16

unit demand.

Question 17

An essential step in implementing a new HRIS is

Answer 17

parallel testing to detect inconsistencies in the installation of the new system.

Question 18

A short-term forecasting method called work-load analysis consists of

Answer 18

using rations of output per employee hour to know how many employees will be needed.

Question 19

What is the BEST response to the criticism that highly unstable environments produce uncertain forecasts?

Answer 19

Uncertain forecasts are still useful since they identify the variables that influence the forecasts and more accurate estimates can be made as the time frame becomes shorter.

Question 20

The chief advantage of employee leasing is that it

Answer 20

relieves the company of the burden of administering HR services and record keeping.

Question 21

Which of the following is the most important consideration in evaluating the effectiveness of a recruitment program?

Answer 21

Yield ratio

Question 22

The three major elements of a job description include identification, job summary, and

Answer 22

Duties and responsibilities.

Question 23

The concept that describes what a company has to offer relative to what is offered by other places of employment is

Answer 23

employment value proposition.

Question 24

Which of the following statements BEST describes how private employment agencies operate?

Answer 24

The fees may be charged to either the employer or the employee.

Question 25

True or False: The EEOC guidelines require employers to prepare written job descriptions of the essential functions of each job.

Answer 25

FALSE

Question 26

The greatest disadvantage of relying on observations when conducting a job analysis is

Answer 26

Many vital job functions are not visible on some jobs.

Question 27

A policy of promoting people from within the company does all but which of the following?

Answer 27

Contributes greater insight and fresh ideas

Question 28

Employee requisitions are normally prepared by

Answer 28

supervisors, who see that they need more people to fill their human resource needs.

Question 29

The problem of nepotism in recruiting refers to

Answer 29

showing favoritism by hiring friends or family members of present employees.

Question 30

A yield ratio of 12:1 for recruiting college engineering graduates means that

Answer 30

to replace five retiring engineers will require 60 job interviews with graduating engineering students.

Question 31

What happens when a hiring specialist makes a false positive error in making a selection decision?

Answer 31

An applicant is hired who will not be successful.

Question 32

The BEST predictor of how people will perform in the future is

Answer 32

how they have performed in the past.

Question 33

A chart showing the probability that an individual will be a successful performer given different scores on a test is called

Answer 33

an individual expectancy chart.

Question 34

A reliable selection procedure is one that

Answer 34

produces a repeatable result.

Question 35

According to the EEOC guidelines, which would be a legal and appropriate hiring question?

Answer 35

Do you have a legal right to work in this country?

Question 36

The EEOC recommends that employers use Criterion-related validity studies which refer to

Answer 36

predictive and concurrent validity.

Question 37

To avoid charges of negligent hiring, employers should

Answer 37

carefully check an applicant's employment background and criminal record.

Question 38

The type of interview that requires the LEAST amount of training for effective use is the

Answer 38

structured interview.

Question 39

Which of the following has shown to be the MOST effective method of managerial selection?

Answer 39

assessment center.

Question 40

The employment interview is

Answer 40

one of the least valid and least reliable commonly used selection procedures.

Question 41

Under USERRA, an employer is exempt from the requirement to re-employ an individual returning after uniformed service under all EXCEPT the following circumstance

Answer 41

Employee was injured during service and can no longer perform duties

Question 42

Executive Order 11246, or Order Number 4, created ______ to monitor compliance with the anti-discrimination provisions of the order.

Answer 42

OFCCP

Question 43

Which of these is NOT a protected classification in Title VII?

Answer 43

Age

Question 44

Which of the following is a legal question under the Americans with Disabilities act?

Answer 44

Do you currently use any illegal drugs?

Question 45

Workers are protected against age discrimination after they reach age

Answer 45

40

Question 46

Which of these characteristics does not qualify as a bona fide occupational qualification?

Answer 46

Race

Question 47

Which of the following, by itself, would satisfy the verification requirement for an I9 form?

Answer 47

a U.S. Passport

Question 48

If a recruitment selection procedure tends to significantly reduce the number of minorities or females who are accepted for employment, the procedure

Answer 48

is said to have a disparate impact.

Question 49

A selection procedure is said to violate the four-fifths rule if

Answer 49

the selection rate for a protected class is less than four-fifths of the rate of the group with the highest selection rate.

Question 50

If an employee requests time off for a special religious holiday, the employer should

Answer 50

Grant it if it does not interfere with the operations of the business.

Question 51

The BEST reason for presenting a training program is because

Answer 51

it contributes to the organization's goals and objectives.

Question 52

From which of the following training techniques would you expect to have the highest transfer of training?

Answer 52

Apprenticeships

Question 53

Which explanation for forgetting suggests that new learning interferes with the retention of old learning?

Answer 53

Retroactive inhibition

Question 54

According to the systems model of training, criteria for evaluating a training program should be developed

Answer 54

After the training objectives have been established but before the training method is selected.

Question 55

Trainees typically learn better if a training program involves

Answer 55

distributed practice.

Question 56

The process of combining a series of stimulus response associations into a complex response pattern is called

Answer 56

chaining.

Question 57

The BEST method for conducting a training needs analysis when data needs to be obtained from a large number of employees is

Answer 57

questionnaires.

Question 58

Difficult tasks that are hard to comprehend usually produce what sort of learning curve?

Answer 58

Positively accelerating

Question 59

Memorizing the Declaration of Independence would involve which type of learning?

Answer 59

Rote learning

Question 60

The MAJOR difference between training and education is that

Answer 60

training narrows the range of responses while education broadens the range.

Question 61

A major benefit of off-the-job training is that

Answer 61

job-related distractions are minimized.

Question 62

Which training method has limited usefulness because it does not provide for active participation of the learners, and there is no practice, no feedback, no knowledge of results, and limited transfer of training?

Answer 62

Lecture

Question 63

The practice of pausing a role-play episode and asking participants to critique what is happening is called

Answer 63

freeze framing.

Question 64

Where does vestibule training take place?

Answer 64

at a separate location such as a training center.

Question 65

An arrangement where students work for a company for a period of time as part of their educational experience is called

Answer 65

an internship.

Question 66

An important advantage of on-the-job training is that it

Answer 66

provides immediate transfer of training.

Question 67

Complete the following statement with the BEST example of a good behavioral objective. After training, you should:

Answer 67

be able to describe the procedure for ordering supplies.

Question 68

What are the normal effects of job rotation on training?

Answer 68

It improves training by providing a broader perspective of the company and new job skills.

Question 69

The training technique that applies the principles of operant conditioning is

Answer 69

programmed instruction.

Question 70

The two major processes that contribute to value internalization are:

Answer 70

induction and modeling.

Question 71

Which of the following illustrates using results as a criteria for evaluating a supervisory training program?

Answer 71

measures of turnover, productivity improvement, and grievances in each supervisor's department.

Question 72

Upon completing a three-day seminar, supervisors were asked to evaluate whether they felt the training was useful, whether they learned from it, and whether they thought it would have a positive impact on the organization. Which type of criteria are the evaluators using?

Answer 72

Reactions.

Question 73

Of the following, which research design is a quasi-experimental design?

Answer 73

time-series design.

Question 74

Which of the following is an example of the Hawthorn Effect?

Answer 74

Employees work faster because they know that researchers are watching them.

Question 75

Tests would most likely be used for evaluating the results of training program when which criterion is utilized?

Answer 75

Learning.

Question 76

What is the major shortcoming of the case study experimental design?

Answer 76

It provides no measure with which to compare performance.

Question 77

Internal referencing strategy improves the usefulness of the pretest-posttest design by including both relevant and irrelevant questions.

Answer 77

including both relevant and irrelevant questions.

Question 78

Which of the following is the BEST research design for evaluating a training program?

Answer 78

Solomon four-group design.

Question 79

Which of the following is the BEST example of an unobtrusive measure?

Answer 79

Evaluators analyze six months' worth of performance data.

Question 80

Which of the following research designs is MOST susceptible to sensitizing effects of the pretest?

Answer 80

pretest-posttest comparison.

Question 81

During the establishment career stage, employees strive to

Answer 81

create a permanent position within their chosen occupation.

Question 82

Which statement in an orientation session would MOST LIKELY help a new employee be an outstanding performer?

Answer 82

"We have high expectations that you'll be an outstanding employee."

Question 83

Technical knowledge and an understanding of the rules and procedures for getting work done is especially important for

Answer 83

supervisors.

Question 84

Which of the following is NOT typically a result of under-socialization?

Answer 84

Dogmatic thinking.

Question 85

A dual-career ladder refers to what?

Answer 85

An employee pursues both a managerial career track and a technical career track.

Question 86

A training program that focuses on changing a manager's assumptions about the value of openness and feedback and making the manager's behavior congruent with how they think they behave is known as

Answer 86

double-loop learning.

Question 87

The "mommy track" is defined as

Answer 87

A career path for women who are willing to sacrifice promotions for flexible jobs with less travel so they can be more involved in raising their children.

Question 88

When new employees expect a company to have a warm, nurturing workplace, but find that they are expected to function in a combative, highly competitive environment, they often experience

Answer 88

reality shock.

Question 89

The main reason many expatriate managers fail in their overseas assignments is that

Answer 89

the managers and their families fail to adjust to a different culture.

Question 90

In the role transition process of organizational socialization, separation refers to

Answer 90

psychologically abandoning a former role.

Question 91

For peer evaluations to occur successfully, peers must be able to observe each others' performance, and there must be

Answer 91

high levels of trust.

Question 92

The factors on which an employee is evaluated is called

Answer 92

The criteria of performance.

Question 93

In selecting the appropriate criteria for performance evaluation, freedom from contamination refers to

Answer 93

eliminating the effects of extraneous factors that are beyond the control of the employee.

Question 94

Which of the following procedures is least subject to the problems of central tendency and leniency-strictness?

Answer 94

ranking.

Question 95

When developing a graphic rating scale, the best method for selecting the appropriate characteristic is

Answer 95

the critical incidents method.

Question 96

When two evaluators observing the same behavior give different ratings, it is an example of

Answer 96

low inter-rater reliability.

Question 97

The major difference between a behaviorally-anchored rating scale and a behavioral observation scale is that

Answer 97

with BOS, the evaluator simply records the frequency of the behavior without evaluating it.

Question 98

When an organization does not have a formal evaluation program, what is likely to occur?

Answer 98

Informal evaluations will continue to occur.

Question 99

When on characteristic about a person--positive or negative--strongly influences all other attitudes about the person, this is called the

Answer 99

halo/horn effect.

Question 100

Using the paired comparison procedures is a method of

Answer 100

ranking.