PHR Practice Test Flashcards
- Harold, the head of the human resources department for a large industrial machine manufacturing company, has discovered an issue that requires ERM, or enterprise Risk Management. Upon reviewing important employee documentation, he has found out that those required forms are not being completed, placing the human resources department at risk for non-compliance with federal guidelines. Using the guidelines of ERM, what should Harold consider doing to prevent further non-compliance?
A. Terminate the employee responsible for failing to ensure correct documentation
B. create a new department within the human resources department that keeps an eye on completing the documentation
C. Contact the federal agency responsible for documentation and request a reprieve
D. establish quarterly reviews of the documentation to ensure that it is completed as required
E. Create a series of checklists that will make certain all company documentation is complete and up to date.
D. establish quarterly reviews of the documentation to ensure that it is completed as required
- Which of the following best describes an adverse impact in the selection of employees for a company?
A. A selection rate among the protected class of more than 95% the selection rate of the highest group
B. The negative impact of failing to diversity the selection rate among employees
C. Any non-compliance with the rules pertaining to the uniform guidelines on the employee selection process
D. A selection rate among the protected class of less than 80% of the selection rate of the highest group
E. Willful discrimination against a specific group when selecting new employees
D. A selection rate among the protected class of less than 80% of the selection rate of the highest group
- OSHA requires that organizations develop three types of plans that will ensure employee protections. Two of these types of plans include an injury and illness prevention plan and an emergency response plan. Which of the following is a third of the plan?
A. Drug Use prevention
B. Fire prevention
C. Environmental protection
D. Clean Air
E. Terrorism Response
B. Fire prevention
- Which of the following best describes what an employer can do when employees begin to unionize?
A. Employers may contact union leaders and forbid unionization
B. Employers may block employees who are the process of unionization
C. Employers may threaten to replace workers who choose to unionize
D. Employers may explain problems with unionization to employees
E. Employers are not allowed to discuss unionization with employees.
D. Employers may explain problems with unionization to employees
- Which of the following motivational theories explores two different managerial approaches: providing rigorous structure and supervision because employees are only working for financial reward versus providing an atmosphere conducive to dialogue, growth, and modification of structure because employee work, not just for financial reward, but the betterment of themselves and other?
A. Maslow hierarchy theory
B. skinner behavioral theory
C. McClelland acquired needs theory
E. Adams equity theory
C. McClelland acquired needs theory
“92. Employers are legally allowed to check and review employee emails, as long as they provide which of the following requirements?
a. Immediate notification from the legal department of impending review”
“b. Evidence that proves wrongdoing on the employee’s part
c. Written policy informing employees of potential for email searches
d. No notification is required, therefore employers may check and review employee emails at any tim
e. Employers are not allowed to check or review employee emails without employee permission”
“92. C: Employers are legally allowed to check and review employee email as long as they provide a written policy informing employees of the potential for email searches. Without this written policy, workers could legally file complaints about invasion of employee privacy”
- According to Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in First, Break All the Rules, which of the following is not one of the four steps that help to create eager and contented employees?
A. Terminate employee who fails to connect with other members of the team
B. create clear goals for all employees and provide rewards for completed goals
C. focus on the strengths of each employee and encourage individual growth
D. Identify potential employees who demonstrate the versatility and a combination of KSAs (Knowledge, skills, and abilities)
E. Locate the most advantageous work situation for each employee
“60. A:
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s First, Break All the Rules takes a positive approach to improving the situation for employees; terminating an employee would not necessarily create a positive situation.”
“87. All of the following represent collective bargaining strategies except:
a. Single-unit bargaining
b. Principled bargaining
c. Parallel bargaining
d. Multi-employer bargaining
e. Multi-unit bargaining”
“87. B: Principled bargaining is considered a collective bargaining position, but it is not considered a collective bargaining strategy.”
“81. What is the fiduciary role of the human resources professional regarding ERISA?
a. Setting up pension accounts for employees
b. Handling and managing pension funds
c. Ensuring that the HIPAA guidelines of ERISA are observed
d. Creating the rules that govern individual retirement account for employees
e. Working with organization to locate the funds for pension accounts”
“81. B: The fiduciary role of the human resources professional regarding ERISA is primarily one of handling and managing the pension funds that the organization provides for retirement accounts. ”
- Which of the following is not a major factor in establishing compensation within an organization?
A. IRS rules
B. Employee salary history
C. Conditions in the labor market
D. Current economic situation
E. Competition from other companies
B. Employee salary history
- Which of the following end results represents a way that a human resource professional can measure how the HR department is bringing value to a company?
A. A reduced number of lawsuits against a company
B. increased expense within the human resources department
C. an increased number of employee complaints indicating.
D. the addition of new employees to the human resources department
E. a reduced level of outsourcing.
A. A reduced number of lawsuits against a company
- Why does the uniform Guidelines on the employee selection process (UGESP) require reliability and validity in testing?
A. To ensure the same results from all tests
B. to avoid discrimination against a protected class
C. To quantity the success rate for the company doing the testing
D. To create a better standard for testing
E. To prevent qualified candidates from being overlooked
B. to avoid discrimination against a protected class
- The fair labor standards act (FLSA) requires companies to retain a certification of age for all employees for how long?
A. 1 year
b. 2 years
C. 5 years
E until employee termination
E. until employee termination
“94. Which of the following represents a legitimate reason for company management to conduct a workplace investigation?
a. An employee is accused of inappropriate behavior toward other employees
b. The company experiences a rapid reduction in the price of their stock
c. Management becomes aware of a breach in legal compliance
d. A supervisor reports a disagreement among co-workers in his or her department
e. The human resources supervisor recognizes clear organizational problems within the human resources department”
“94. A: If an employee is accused of inappropriate behavior toward other employees, the company management has an obligation to conduct a workplace investigation.”
- Which of the following best defines featherbedding?
A. when an employer ceases to do business with another employer
B. when an obsolete job is retained to ensure an employee is not terminated
C. When a union coerces an employee to participates in union activities
D. When a union overcharges employees the union fees
E. When an employer treats an employee badly for acting as a whistleblower
B. when an obsolete job is retained to ensure an employee is not terminated
- Which of the following is not a part of the due diligence process that a human resource professional must review during a merger?
A. affirmative action plans
B. employment contracts
C. Whistleblower prevention
D. OSHA compliance
E. union activity
C. Whistleblower prevention
- The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was designed to do which of the following?
A. Prevent illegal trafficking of merchandise
B. curtail extensive imports to bolster domestic manufacturing
C. set high standards for American businesses that have location aboard
D. prevent American businesses from bribing foreign governments
E. protects American workers who go to work overseas
“69. D: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was created specifically to prevent American businesses from bribing foreign governments.”
- The uniform guidelines on the employee selection process (UGESP) requires which two qualities in testing?
A. Fairness and reliability
B. Validity and disinterestedness
C. Equality and fairness
D. Reliability and validity
E. consideration and reliability
D. Reliability and validity
“82. How long after filing with the Department of Labor are ERISA records required to be maintained?
a. 4 years
b. 5 years
c. 6 years
d. 7 years
e. 8 years”
“82. C: Once a company has filed ERISA records with the Department of Labor, that company is required to maintain those records for a minimum of six years”
68. Which of these conditions that might affect a company is tied to directly the labor market?
A. ability for a company to consider and hire the right candidates
B. potential for a negative effect on the company’s bottom line
C. analysis of competition with other companies
D. geographic changes to the economic situation as a whole
E. changing educational expectations for potential employees
“68. A: Simply put, the conditions in the labor market can influence the available candidates for open positions in a company.”
- Which of the following is not a part of the human resource professional’s analysis of staffing needs?
A. Create a list of necessary KSAs that will encourage company growth
B. Develop a list of employees who might be ready for promotion
C. review the economic situation to consider any changes to the company’s hiring policy
D. consider various hiring options for any open positions, as well as positions that will be open in the near future
E. Review the results of past hiring decisions to increase the potential success of future decisions.
C. review the economic situation to consider any changes to the company’s hiring policy
42. Which of the following best defines the purpose of a human resources audit?
A. Reviewing the organization of the human resources department and making any necessary changes
B. Taking stock of current compliance with labor relations laws and updating company policies accordingly
C. considering overall improvements that human resources can make within the company
Reviewing current training programs to consider the internal improvement
E. analyzing the organization’s recruiting methods and policies
C. considering overall improvements that human resources can make within the company
- A private company is a contractor for a federal defense agency. Many of the contractor’s employees will be in positions of extreme sensitivity, and the contractor would like to give polygraph tests to employees. What is the federal policy regarding polygraph tests in this situation?
A. All contractor employees may be given polygraph tests.
B. federal law makes polygraphs illegal for anyone or any institution but the government to administer
C. the employer may utilize anyone in the company to administer the polygraph
D. Because the contractor has other contracts not related to its work with the defense agency, polygraphs are not allowed
E. The polygraph test may be administered only to those who will be working in defense-related jobs
“70. E: Polygraph tests are allowed among federal defense contractors but may only be administered to those who will be working in the defense-related jobs. Most large contractors will not limit their contract work to the government, so it is entirely possible that the company will have employees doing work that is unrelated to the defense jobs. What is more, the employees who do work in connection with the defense agency but don’t do sensitive work will not require polygraph testing. ”
“77. How are vacation pay policies established for organizations?
a. Vacation pay policies are created under the guidelines of the FMLA
b. Vacation pay policies are established by each company
c. Vacation pay policies fall under the rules of ERISA
d. Vacation pay policies fall under the jurisdiction of state-established guidelines
e. Vacation pay policies are created by union policies within companies”
“77. B: Each company is responsible for establishing the vacation pay policies that will apply to their employees. The FMLA does not specify vacation pay policies, so answer choice”
- The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) establishes the right of an employee to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection” for which type of employees?
A. Full-time employee only
B. Part-time employee only
C. union employee only
D. non-union employees only
E. all employees
E. all employees
- Which of the following provides the best definition of organization development?
A. Creating a mutual understanding of the values within an organization
B. Discovering methods of strategic intervention to address problems within the organization
C. Establishing means of employee participation in decisions that are made within organizations
E. Analyzing the various elements of an organization’s makeup and reviewing opportunities for improvement
E. Analyzing the various elements of an organization’s makeup and reviewing opportunities for improvement
- The WARN Act was designed to do which of the following.
A. Prevent massive lay-offs that disrupt the economy
B. provide new positions for employees that have been laid off
C. Create government funding to support a struggling company
D. mandate full severance pay for those who have been laid off
E. Establish rights for employees who have been laid off.
E. Establish rights for employees who have been laid off.
- Which of the following is not one of the four categories of intervention, as defined by Thomas Cummings and Christoper Worley in their book Organization Development and Change?
A. Techno-structural
B. Human resource management
C. Change management
D. Strategic
E. Human process
C. Change management
- Which is the human resource professional’s strategic role in organizations within a company or corporation?
A. produce definitive change
B. encourage employees in their personal strengths
C. manage relationships between employees and the company
D. Handles any issues arising from compliance problems
E. Manage All employees problems
B. encourage employees in their personal strengths
- Which of the following is not a piece of legislation that covers employee deferred compensation programs?
A. family medical and leave act?
B. retirement equity act
C. Small business job protection act
D. older worker benefit protection act
e. pension protection act
A. family medical and leave act?
- Which motivational theory focuses on the ability to alter behavior through intervention options, such as positive or negative reinforcement?
A. Alderfer ERG theory
B. Skinner Operant Conditioning Theory
C. Maslow Hierarchy Theory
D. Vroom Expectancy theoyr
E. Herzberg motivation/hygiene theory
“58. B:
B.F. Skinner is famous as a behaviorist, concluding that all human actions can be conditioned through behavior modification, or different types of behavioral reinforcement.”
- Jocelyn has the responsibility of interviewing the candidates who have applied for an open position as a mechanic in an auto repair shop. As she meets and interviews the various candidates, she is not pleased with the potential employees that she encounters during this interview. One of the candidates, however, is a strongly built young woman with a tough demeanor. Despite this woman’s limited resume and experience, Jocelyn decides that this particular candidate is the best employee choice because her appearance fits the image that the auto repair shop will need. In this, Jocelyn is demonstrating which of the following interview biases?
A. Stereotyping
B. Similar-to-me
C. Recency
D. First Impression
E. Gut Feeling
“65. A: Jocelyn is allowing a stereotyping bias (how she perceives the female mechanic) to guide her decision about which candidate will be best for the position in the auto repair shop.”
- Arthur is an employee of a Distribion company and is looking to request FMLA-approved leave for personal reasons. Arthur contacts Brad, an HR professional at the company, to find out if he is eligible for this type of leave. Arthur has worked for the company for 9 months. What is the minimum period of time an employee needs to the worker for an employer to be eligible for leave according to FMLA guidelines?
A. 8 months
B. 10 months
C. 12 months
D. 15 months
E. 18 months
C. 12 months
- The risk areas that the human resources professional is responsible for considering include all of the following except:
A. workplace privacy
B. legal compliance
C. Safety and health
D. business continuity
E. Labor relations
E. Labor relations
“85. Which type of voluntary benefits plan relies on unknown benefits that result from investments that are gained on the retirement account?
a. Participation benefit
b. Non-qualified plan
c. Cash balance
d. Qualified plan
e. Defined contribution”
“85. E: Question 85 describes the defined contribution plan, which utilizes a standard pension plan but without the added benefits defined in advance. ”
- AS of July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage was established at $7.25 per hour. Grace clothing, a successful line of retail clothing stores located in California, will be hiring 10 new workers at minimum wage with the option for commission. California has a statewide minimum wage of $8.00 per hour, so the company owners have contacted human resources manager Edwina regarding the disparity in minimum wage pay at the state and federal level. which statement below best describes the policy Edwina would cite to help Grace’s clothing resolve the difference?
A. Grace Clothing is required to pay employees the lowest minimum wage of any state in the country, which is $5.15
B. When the federal minimum wage is lower than a state minimum wage, companies may use the federal minimum wage as their standard
C. When a state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, the company is required to pay the state minimum over the federal minimum
D. The size of grace clothing makes it exempt from minimum wage requirements, so the company has no obligation to follow either federal or state minimum wage.
E. The option for commission means that grace clothing can lower the minimum wage that it pays workers because the commission payment compensates for the lower minimum pay.
C. When a state minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, the company is required to pay the state minimum over the federal minimum
66. Which of the following is the best definition of an employer’s brand?
A. the public relations strategy for a company’s success
B. the human resources policy of marketing the company to a prospective employee
C. A clear portrayal of the company’s identity
D. the total rewards philosophy for a company
E. The logo that represents a company
“66. C: An employer brand is simply a clear indication of a company’s identity; it is essentially the unique characteristic(s) that define a company.”
- Which type of voluntary benefits program utilizes a typical pension plan in which the employer adds an established benefit to the plan when the employee retires?
A. Benefit accrual plan
B. Defined contribution
C. Nonqualified plan
D. Defined benefit
E. Qualified plan
D. Defined benefit
- Standard human resources budget responsibilities for a company might include all of the following except:
A. performance increases
B. payroll taxes
C. travel expenses
D. Repairs and maintenance
E. employee benefits
D. Repairs and maintenance
“86. Which of the following represents an occasion when picketing would be illegal?
a. When an election for union representation has occurred within a 12-month period
b. When employees try to provide potential customers with information about business practices
c. When a union tries to encourage non-union employees to join the union
d. When a union attempts to encourage the employer to recognize union representation
e. When employees make efforts to inform the public about the employer’s position regarding unions”
“86. A: Though picketing is legal under certain circumstances, one instance when picketing is illegal occurs when an election for union representation has occurred within a 12-month period.”
