MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1 The basic functions of management include all of the following except ________.
Which basic function of management includes establishing goals and standards, developing rules and procedures, and forecasting?
4
Which of the specific activities listed below is part of the planning function?
4) _______ A) training and developing employees B) recruiting prospective employees C) giving each subordinate a specific task D) developing rules and procedures E) all of the above
5
Zarina spends most of her time at work setting goals and standards and developing rules and procedures. Which function of management does Zarina specialize in?
5) _______ A) planning B) organizing C) motivating
Which basic function of management includes delegating authority to subordinates and establishing channels of communication?
When managers use metrics to assess performance and then develop strategies for corrective action, they are performing the ________ function of management.
training and developing employees B)
giving each subordinate a specific task C)
recruiting prospective employees D)
developing rules and procedures E)
all of the above 9
Which basic function of management includes selecting employees, setting performance standards, and compensating employees?
9) _______ A) leading B) staffing C) organizing D) motivating E) planning
What specific activity is part of the staffing function? 10) ______ A) developing rules and procedures B) giving each subordinate a specific task C) maintaining morale D) recruiting prospective employees E) both B and C
Which basic function of management includes setting standards such a sales quotas and quality standards?
11) ______ A) leading B) staffing C) organizing D) controlling E) planning
1
What specific activities listed below are part of the controlling function?
12) ______ A) developing rules and procedures B) giving each subordinate a specific task C) training and developing employees D) recruiting prospective employees E)
checking to see how actual performance compares with standards
1 ________ is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees, and attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns.
13) ______ A)
Organizational Behavior B)
Industrial Psychology C)
Organizational Health and Safety Management D)
Human Resource Management E)
Human resource management is ________.
the process of identifying countries with cheaper labor costs and relocating jobs to those countries
B) the process of organizing work activities
C)
the concepts and techniques used to control people at work
D)
the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees, and attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns
E)
Human resource management in the Arab world is influenced by ________. 15)
As the organization grows in size, line mangers need the assistance of the ________ for specialized knowledge and advice.
are authorized to direct the work of subordinates.
are responsible for assisting and advising line managers in areas like recruiting, hiring, and compensation.
______ A)
training employees
B)
placing the right person in the right job
C)
protecting employees' health
D)
controlling labor costs
E)
all are responsibilities necessary for effective human resource management
2
Human resource managers generally exert ________ within the human resources department and ________ outside the human resources department.
20) ______ A)
staff authority; line authority B)
functional control; authoritarian control C)
line authority; implied authority D)
staff authority; specific authority
E)
line authority; staff authority
2
Line managers respect the knowledge human resource managers have in areas such as testing and affirmative action. Consequently, human resource managers can influence line managers through ________.
21) ______
A)
implied authority B)
functional control C)
human capital D)
explicit authority E) line authority
When the HR manager acts to ensure that line managers are implementing the firm's human resource policies and practices. They are carrying out the ________ function.
________ refers to the tendency of firms to extend their sales, ownership, and/or manufacturing to new markets abroad.
What term captures the knowledge, education, training, skills, and expertise of a firm's workers?
Which of the following demographic issues represents a challenge for human resource managers in Arab countries?
increasing the number of female workers D)
both A and B E)
B, and C
The proportion of women in the Arab workforce is projected to ________.
28) ______ A) increase steadily B) decrease at an increasing rate C) stop growing D)
decrease as more women decide to stay home with children E)
none of the above 2
What tactic will employers likely have to take to fill openings left by retiring employees?
29) ______ A)
hiring more women B)
instituting flexible work hours C) providing elder care D)
rehiring retirees E)
lowering the retirement age 3
A ________ is a company's long-term plan for how it will balance its internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats in order to maintain a competitive advantage. 30)
All of the following except ________ are ways that human resource management improves corporate performance.
33) ______ A) technology B) human resource practices C) high performance work systems D) strategic planning E)
all of the above are methods by which human resource management improves corporate performance
3
Which of the following best describes strategic human resource management?
34) ______ A)
Managing a firm's insurance benefits administration process.
B)
Emphasizing the knowledge, education, training, skills, and expertise of a firm's workers.
C)
Extending a firm's sales, ownership, and manufacturing to new markets.
D)
Formulating and executing human resource policies and practices that produce the employee competencies and behaviors the company needs to achieve its strategic aims.
E)
Planning the balance of internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats to maintain competitive advantage.
3
Which term refers to letting outside vendors provide services for a firm?
35) ______ A) application service providers B) data warehousing C) rightsizing D)
warehousing E) all of the above
3
________ is used to facilitate distance learning and training or to provide corporate information to employees quickly and inexpensively applications in human resource management include(s) ________. 37) ______ A) wireless net access B) data warehousing C) web portal D) streaming desktop video E)
3 A(n) ________ provides software applications, for instance, for processing employment applications.
The term '________' refers to an integrated set of human resource management policies and practices that together result in superior employee performance.
42) ______ A) strategic planning B) high-performance work system C) strategic human resource management D) human resource scorecard approach E) benchmarking
4
The performance of human resource departments is evaluated based on ________.
43) ______ A) measurable evidence of efficiency B) measurable evidence of effectiveness C) qualitative measures of success D) anecdotal evidence E) both A and B
________ are used to enable employees to sign up for and manage their own benefits packages and to update their personal information. 44) ______ A) benchmarks B) e-procurement facilities C) goals D) grades E) portals 4
The ________ metric can be used as a measurement to show improvements to savings in recruitment and retention costs. 45) ______ A) time to fill B) human capital Return on Investment C) cost per hire D) absence rate E)
Which metric indicates the total number of days from which job requisition was approved to new hire start date? 46) ______ A)
The ________ metric views human resource expenses in relation to the total operating expenses of the organization.
4 The ________ measures the rate at which employees leave the company.
Managers use a(n) ________ to measure the HR function's effectiveness and efficiency in producing employee behaviors the company needs to achieve its strategic goals.
high performance work system
B)
statistical analysis
C)
benchmark
D) HR Scorecard
E)
Metrics can be compared against ________ to evaluate an organization's performance.
50) ______ A)
HR expense factor B)
absence rate C)
cost per hire
turnover rate
D)
E)
all of the above
5
The HR expense factor is equal to ________.
51) ______ A)
HR expense divided by the total operating expense B)
total days elapsed to fill requisitions divided by the number hired C)
revenue minus operating expense minus compensation and benefit cost divided by the total number of full-time equivalents (FTE)
D)
revenue divided by the total number of full-time equivalents (FTE)
E)
advertising plus agency fees plus employee referrals plus travel costs of applicant plus relocation costs plus recruiter pay and benefits divided by number of hires
52) ______ A)
HR expense divided by the total operating expense
B)
total days elapsed to fill requisitions divided by the number hired
C)
advertising plus agency fees plus employee referrals plus travel costs of applicant plus relocation costs plus recruiter pay and benefits, all divided by the number of hires
D)
revenue minus operating expense minus compensation and benefit cost divided by the total number of full-time equivalents (FTE) E)
revenue divided by the total number of full-time equivalents (FTE)
5
Firms can use the ________ as a benchmark for the cost per hire metric.
BNA Turnover Report B)
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Report C)
BNA Job Absence Report D)
BNA/Cost per Hire Staffing Metrics Survey
5
Firms can use the ________ as a benchmark for the 'Time to fill' metric.
55) ______ A)
BNA Job Absence Report B)
BNA Turnover Report C)
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Report D)
BNA/Cost per Hire Staffing Metrics Survey E)
none of the above
5
The concise measurement system used by companies to show the quantitative standards the firm uses to measure HR activities, employee behaviors resulting from the activities, and the strategically relevant organizational outcomes of those employee behaviors is called a(n) ________.
56) ______ A)
appraisal system B)
HR scorecard C)
annual report D)
evaluation system E)
evaluation benchmark
5
In which area must HR managers be proficient in order to perform well in today's environment?
57) ______ A) leadership proficiencies
60)
A)
HR proficiencies
B)
staffing proficiencies
C)
leadership proficiencies
D)
learning proficiencies
E)
business proficiencies
6
Jaber Al-Mallah is an HR manager for a Fortune 500 company. The MBA degree he earned prior to taking this position has been helpful to him because it prepared him to better understand the role of strategic planning, marketing, production, and finance in creating a profitable organization. Which category of proficiency has Jaber's MBA prepared him for?
61) ______
A)
learning proficiencies
B)
HR proficiencies
C)
business proficiencies
D)
leadership proficiencies
E)
staffing proficiencies
6 Salem is particularly good at staying abreast of new technologies and practices affecting human resources management. Which proficiency is Salem skilled in?
62) ______
A)
staffing proficiencies
B)
learning proficiencies
C)
business proficiencies
The term '________' refer to the ability of the HR manager to stay abreast of and apply all the new technologies and practices affecting the profession.
Setting standards such as sales quotas, quality
or production levels is part of the leading function of human
The planning function of management includes establishing goals and standards and developing forecasts.
Cost per hire is calculated by adding all of the costs involved in getting new hires (including advertising costs, recruiter costs, and travel costs) divided by the number of new hires.
The HR Scorecard is a concise measurement system which shows the quantitative standards the firm used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of human resource activities.
A company's absence rate can be compared to the BNA Job Absence Report to assess whether the absence rate represents a problem.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
100)
What are the five basic functions of management? Explain some of the specific activities involved in each function. Is one function more important for human resource management?
101)
Which of the five management functions is most related to human resource management? What job duties are associated with this function of management?
102)
Explain the difference between line authority and staff authority. What type of authority do human resource managers have?
103)
Human resource managers carry out three distinct functions. List and explain the three functions.
104)
What are the four main ways that technology improves HR functioning?
105)
Identify five metrics used to evaluate HR performance.
106)
What are the four categories of proficiencies required today for human resource managers? Explain the meaning of each type of proficiency.
107)
Employment law increasingly affects the decisions of human resource managers. Name three types of laws and explain the purpose of each one.
100)
The five basic functions are planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. Planning activities include establishing goals and standards, developing rules and procedures, and developing plans and forecasting. Organizing activities include giving specific task assignments to subordinates, establishing departments, delegating authority to subordinates, and establishing channels of authority and communication. Staffing activities include determining what type of people should be hired, recruiting prospective employees, and setting performance standards. Leading activities include maintaining morale and motivating subordinates. Controlling activities include setting standards such as sales quotas, and quality standards and taking corrective action as needed. Staffing is the function most readily related to human resource management. However, HR managers actually perform all five functions.
101)
Staffing is the function affiliated to human resource management. The types of job duties categorized under the staffing function include conducting job analyses, planning labor needs, recruiting job candidates, selecting job candidates, managing wages, providing incentives, appraising performance, communicating, training, and building employee commitment.
102)
Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders. Line managers are authorized to direct the work of subordinates and are directly in charge of accomplishing the organization's basic goals. Staff managers are authorized to assist and advise line managers in accomplishing these basic goals. Human resource managers are usually staff managers because they are responsible for assisting and advising line managers in areas like recruiting,
hiring, and compensation. However, human resource managers do have line authority within their own department.
103)
The three functions include a line function, a coordination function, and a staff function. HR managers exert line authority within the HR department because they direct the activities of the people in that department. HR managers also coordinate personnel activities. In the staff function, HR managers assist in hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding, counseling, promoting, and firing employees. They also administer benefit programs and help line managers comply with employment laws, occupational health and safety, and labor laws.
104)
Technology improves HR functioning through self-service options, call centers, productivity improvement, and outsourcing.
105)
The five metrics detailed in the text include cost per hire, absence rate, HR expense factor, time to fill, and turnover rate. There are numerous other metrics as well such as health care costs per employee, human capital return on investment, turnover costs, and workers' compensation costs per employee.
106)
The four categories of proficiencies are HR proficiencies, business proficiencies, leadership proficiencies and learning proficiencies. HR proficiencies represent traditional knowledge and skills in such areas as employee selection, training, and compensation. Business proficiencies refer to operations strategy, strategic planning, marketing, production, and finance. Leadership proficiencies include the ability to lead and manage groups. Learning proficiencies include the ability to stay abreast of and apply new technologies.
107)
The three types of laws are immigration laws, occupational safety and health laws, and labor laws. Immigration laws are set guidelines regarding how the company recruits foreign candidates; occupational safety and health laws mandate strict guidelines regarding safety practices at work; and labor laws lay out, among other things, what the employer can and cannot do when laying off employees.