Human Resources Management
Mid-term Exam – Nov. 20, 2017
Chapter 1 – 6
1. To build human capital in organizations, managers should rely upon staffing programs that focus on
which of the following?
a. identifying cheap sources of qualified labour
b. identifying and hiring the best and brightest talent available
c. identifying college graduates with the requisite skills
d. identifying individuals with communication skills
2. Which of the following is the best example of how globalization presents challenges for HR
professionals?
a. HR information programs are now written in multiple languages.
b. Job candidates are from diverse and international backgrounds.
c. International travel is inconsistent with corporate social responsibility initiatives.
d. Organizations worldwide are changing the way they do business.
3. Which of the following is one of the largest expenditures of service companies?
a. production costs
b. marketing costs
c. labour costs
d. distribution costs
4. What is one responsibility of the human resources manager?
a. giving advice and counsel
b. balancing the organization’s accounts
c. ensuring the credit rating of the organization
d. securing new markets
5. Organization Z is planning its future. In the process, the firm is making decisions such as what type of
market it wants to be the leader in and what path to take to achieve this goal. What is Organization Z
doing?
a. strategic planning
b. human resources planning
c. performing a Markov analysis
d. applying principles of strategic human resources management
6. When an organization monitors demographic and labour market trends as well as technological and IT
changes, it is most likely performing which of the following?
a. a competitive environment scan
b. an environment scan
c. a strategic plan
d. a labour market scan
7. What should you take into account when forecasting demand?
a. product/service demand
b. the number of part-time employees needed
c. unemployment rate
d. labour mobility
8. What is benchmarking?
a. the practice of identifying employees with promotion potential
b. the practice of identifying performance differences with competing firms
c. the process of identifying the best practices of a firm in a given area and comparing your
practices to their practices
d. the process of establishing performance standards through HRP
9. Which statement best describes bona fide occupational qualifications?
a. They are used to identify adverse impact.
b. They are based on employer preference.
c. They can permit discrimination by an employer.
d. They require reasonable accommodation on the part of the employer.
10. What is the first step in the employment equity implementation process?
a. data collection and analysis
b. establishment of a work plan
c. senior management commitment
d. employment systems review
11. Which of the following is essential for an employer to determine whether goals are being attained and
problems resolved, and whether strategies have been effective?
a. implementation
b. monitoring
c. an employment systems review
d. establishing goals and timetables
12. The concepts of harassment in the workplace are being broadened to include which one of the
following?
a. compensation decisions
b. psychological harassment such as bullying
c. privacy
d. evaluation and monitoring
13. Which term refers to systematically investigating jobs by following a number of predetermined steps
specified in advance?
a. job design
b. job evaluation
c. job analysis
d. job examination
14. Kirk is learning a new job by watching his coworkers and asking questions. He notices that some of
his coworkers stress the importance of certain tasks, while others don’t do these tasks at all. This has
left Kirk somewhat stressed by what he should and should not be doing in his new role. What does
Kirk need?
a. a job description
b. a job analysis
c. information from the NOC
d. job specifications
15. According to the job characteristics model, what three psychological states of a jobholder result in
motivated, satisfied, and productive employees?
a. meaningfulness of work, task significance, and autonomy
b. meaningfulness of work, responsibility for completion of a whole identifiable piece of
work, and knowledge of work results
c. meaningfulness of work, responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of work results
d. meaningfulness of work, responsibility for outcomes, and fair compensation
16. What is the primary purpose of the organizational practice of promoting from within?
a. to reward employees for past performance
b. to protect the organization from internal discrimination suits
c. to reduce long-term compensation budgets
d. to alleviate some of the need for HR planning
17. What does the value of a computerized record system (SAP and PeopleSoft) for locating qualified
internal job candidates largely depend on?
a. the experience of the employees
b. the extent to which data in the system is kept up-to-date
c. the extent to which the system is “user-friendly”
d. the availability of the system to line personnel
18. If an executive search firm found a successful candidate for the role of a senior executive where the
annual salary is $200,000 per year, what would be the most likely fee charged by the search firm?
a. $80,000
b. $35,000
c. $120,000
d. $100,000
19. What is the term for the lines of advancement for an individual within an organization?
a. career paths
b. job progressions
c. career lines
d. job paths
20. Which of the following most accurately represents the typical steps in the selection process?
a. candidates participate in employment testing before being interviewed
b. supervisors interview candidates followed by individual interviews with the HR
department
c. candidates are interviewed in the initial stages and again the late stages of the process
d. background investigations are carried out near the beginning of the process
21. Which of the following is appropriate to ask on an application form?
a. whether the applicant has prior arrests
b. whether the applicant is eligible to be bonded
c. whether the applicant has ever been in jail
d. whether the applicant has ever been caught stealing
22. Which of the following refers to an interview in which an applicant is given a hypothetical incident
and is asked how he or she would respond to it?
a. a computer interview
b. a panel interview
c. a situational interview
d. a nondirective interview
23. Asking a candidate for an auto mechanic position to disassemble and reassemble a carburetor is an
example of which of the following?
a. a work sample test
b. a job knowledge test
c. a physical ability test
d. an interest inventory
24. Which of the following measures mental capabilities such as general intelligence, verbal fluency,
numerical ability, or reasoning ability?
a. a personality and interest inventory
b. a physical ability test
c. a cognitive ability test
d. a job sample
25. Organization T uses a decision-making model in which an applicant is allowed to score poorly in one
area of the selection tests, as long as he or she scores very high in another area. What is this type of
decision-making model called?
a. a statistical model
b. a multiple hurdle model
c. a compensatory model
d. a multiple cutoff model