Reference no: EM131114667

Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a pagebreak, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.

1. An employee refuses an employer's request to falsify the contents of a report to the EEOC. The employer subsequently discharges the worker for "not following orders." In a wrongful-discharge suit, theemployee is likely to argue which of the following exceptions to the at-will-employment doctrine?

A. Implied contract
B. Equal employment
C. Public policy
D. Reverse discrimination

2. Which of the following is a false statement about using peers as a source of performance information?

A. Peer ratings are particularly useful when supervisors don't have the opportunity to observe employees.
B. Peers are more willing participants in reviews used for employees.
C. Peers have expert knowledge of job requirements and bring a unique perspective to the evaluation, often resulting in extremelyvalid assessments of performance.
D. Peer ratings, according to research, are highly influenced by friendships.

3. Why would an employee seek a downward move?

A. To learn different skills
B. To have more authority
C. To increase salary and visibility
D. To have greater challenges

4. In terms of job dissatisfaction, an employee who calls in sick or arrives to work late is engaging in

A. behavior change.
B. physical withdrawal.
C. psychological withdrawal.
D. whistleblowing.

5. Based on the expectation that two people in conflict should first try to arrive at a settlement together, theorganization has a policy of making managers available to hear complaints. Typically, the first open door isthat of the employee's

A. immediate supervisor.
B. peers.
C. director.
D. immediate subordinates.

6. If a performance measure lacks _______ reliability, determining whether an employee's performance hastruly changed over time will be impossible.

A. interrater
B. external
C. test-retest
D. strategic

7. The primary use of assessment centers is to identify

A. employees' personality types and job interests.
B. decision processes and communication styles that inhibit production.
C. the strengths and weaknesses of team members.
D. employees who have the personality, characteristics, and skills needed for managerial positions.

8. Which of the following statements illustrates effective feedback?

A. "I don't see any progress from the last review; you're lazy."
B. "You've achieved 100 percent of your target in less than six months."
C. "Overall, your performance has been satisfactory."
D. "You've become careless; you came in late three times last week."

9. What is the employee's responsibility in the self-assessment stage of career management?

A. Provide assessment information to identify strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values
B. Identify opportunities and areas of needed improvement
C. Communicate performance evaluations
D. Identify steps and a timetable to reach goals

10. Three of the following are trends in executive education. Which one is not a trend in executive education?

A. Due to increasing costs, employees are increasingly being asked to cover tuition and other program-related costs.
B. Formal educational programs are being supplemented with other developmental activities.
C. Employers and education providers are developing short courses with content designed specifically for the audience.
D. Distance learning is being used more frequently by companies.

11. Which of the following statements correctly describes in-basket exercises?

A. In-basket exercises are paper-and-pencil tests designed to measure participants' communication styles and skills.
B. In-basket exercises simulate the administrative tasks of a manager's job, using a pile of documents for the employee to handle.
C. In-basket exercises require participants to take the part of a manager or employee in a situation involving the skills to beassessed.
D. In-basket exercises require teams of five to seven employees to work together to solve assigned problems within a certaintime period.

12. To improve performance of underutilizers, managers should

A. withhold pay increases.
B. link rewards to performance outcomes.
C. demote them from their current position.
D. offer temporary assignments for skill development.

13. Three of the following are likely outcomes or benefits of conducting annual employee satisfaction surveys. Which of the following is not a likely outcome or benefit?

A. The surveys allow the company to monitor trends over time.
B. The surveys provide a means for empirically assessing the effects of changes in personnel practices on worker attitudes.
C. The surveys give employees an outlet for voicing their concerns.
D. The surveys provide evidence of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform specific jobs.

14. Explanation, consideration, and empathy are key determinants of

A. interactional justice.
B. procedural justice.
C. alternative dispute resolutions.
D. perceptual justice.

15. In which performance technique are managers given three performance rating scales per dimension andasked to indicate whether the employee's performance is above (+), at (0), or below (-) the statements?

A. Graphic-rating scale
B. Behavioral-observation scale
C. Behaviorally anchored rating scale
D. Mixed-standard scale

16. An Individual Coaching for Effectiveness program is designed to

A. help prepare managers for overseas assignments.
B. reduce the effects of the glass ceiling.
C. help managers with dysfunctional behaviors.
D. improve managers in succession planning.

17. The Job Descriptive Index measures three of the following facets of employee satisfaction. Which is not measured by the Job Descriptive Index?

A. Customers
B. The work itself
C. Coworkers
D. Pay

18. A team of five to seven employees is assigned a problem and must work together to solve it within a certain time period. Which of the following techniques is being used?

A. Discussion
B. Leaderless group discussion
C. Role playing
D. In-basket exercise

19. If peer review doesn't lead to a settlement, a neutral party from outside the organization hears the caseand tries to help the people in conflict arrive at a settlement. This process is called

A. arbitration.
B. progressive discipline.
C. open-door policy.
D. mediation.

20. Which of the following is a false statement about the glass ceiling?

A. Research has found gender differences in accessing job experiences involving transitions and creating change.
B. The barrier may be due to a lack of access to training programs, developmental job experiences, and developmentalrelationships, such as mentoring.
C. Research shows male managers receive more assignments involving high levels of responsibility than do female managers ofsimilar ability and managerial level.
D. The barrier may be due to stereotypes that hinder the development of women and minorities.

21. Which of the following is not an advantage of a balanced scorecard?

A. A balanced scorecard links external pay rates with internal job structures, allowing organizations to gain both internal andexternal pay equity.
B. A balanced scorecard balances the disadvantages of one type of incentive pay with the advantages of another type.
C. A balanced scorecard allows for a combination of performance measures that are directed toward both the company's longandshort-term objectives.
D. Communicating a balanced scorecard helps employees understand the organization's goals and how they might contribute tothese goals.

22. Three of the following are types of defined-contribution pension plans. Which of the following is not atype of defined-contribution pension plan?

A. Section 401(k) plan
B. Employee stock option plan
C. Money purchase plan
D. Gainsharing plan

23. In response to the growing concern over ethical issues surrounding incentive pay for executives, three ofthe following actions have been taken. Which action has not been taken in response to the growing concernover ethical issues?

A. Limiting the amount companies may deduct for executive and performance-related pay to no more than $1 million
B. Imposing strict limits on insider trading
C. Using the balanced-scorecard to design executive pay and incentives
D. Requiring companies to more clearly report executive compensation levels and the company's performance relative to that ofcompetitors

24. Employees who have met the enrollment and length-of-service requirements to receive a pension at
retirement, regardless of whether they remained with the employer until that time, are said to be

A. retirees.
B. vested.
C. expatriates.
D. pensioners.

25. Quality guru W. Edwards Deming advocates the use of

A. piecework incentives.
B. group incentives.
C. stock options.
D. merit-pay systems.

26. Chief executives of large U.S. businesses earn over _______ times as much as manufacturing employeesin their companies.

A. 10
B. 40
C. 20
D. 60

27. Which act permits a lower training wage, which employers may pay to workers under the age of 20 fora period of up to 90 days?

A. ERISA
B. ADA
C. FMLA
D. FLSA

28. Pay specifically designed to energize, direct, or control employees' behavior is known as

A. exempt pay.
B. indirect pay.
C. empowerment pay.
D. incentive pay.

29. Which level of child care is most frequently provided by organizations with 100 or more employees?

A. The organization provides vouchers or discounts for employees to use at existing child-care facilities.
B. The organization supplies and helps employees collect information about the cost and quality of available child care.
C. The organization offers no support within this area.
D. The organization operates a day-care center at or near the workplace.

30. An employee earns $10 an hour and receives a weekly attendance award of $20. That employee works50 hours this week and thus earns a total compensation of

A. $557.50.
B. $577.50.
C. $550.00.
D. $570.00.

31. Which of the following is an advantage of group incentives?

A. Rewarding the performance of all employees at a facility
B. Groups trying to outdo one another in satisfying customers
C. Group more likely using a broad range of performance measures
D. Encouraging team members to compete with each other so they can achieve their goal

32. Organizations being squeezed between labor and product markets need to

A. move from job-based pay structures to skill-based pay systems, where employees are empowered and jobs are moreenriched.
B. couple pay policies with creative HR, production, and marketing management to make workers' contributions more valuableand products more profitable.
C. change their strategic mission and direction, moving to more attractive industries.
D. move their operations overseas.

33. Which of the following is a false statement about Social Security benefits?

A. Eligibility rules must be met to receive benefits.
B. Workers who meet requirements receive retirement benefits according to age and earnings history.
C. Benefits are taxed as ordinary income at both the federal and state level.
D. Employers and employees share the cost of the program through a payroll tax.

34. Which of the following is a false statement about key jobs?

A. Key jobs are relatively stable in content.
B. Key jobs have many incumbents within the organization.
C. Key jobs are common to many organizations.
D. Key jobs are jobs on which it's possible to obtain market-pay survey data.

35. A system in which an employer pays a worker specifically for each unit produced is known as

A. gross pay.
B. hourly wage.
C. piecework rate.
D. salary.

36. Why are growing numbers of employers opting for defined-contribution plans?

A. Employers are free from the risk of poor performance of the plans.
B. They guarantee a specified level of retirement income.
C. PGBC makes annual contribution of $33 per participant.
D. Defined-contribution plans are required by ERISA.

37. In 2003, a company employee received an option to purchase the company's stock at $45 per share. Ifthe stock is trading at $40 a share in 2005, the employee will most likely

A. exercise the option, receiving a gain of $5.
B. exercise the option, receiving a gain of $40.
C. hold on to the option, hoping the stock price will increase in the future.
D. try changing the price in the original option agreement to improve the stock's performance.

38. By law, what percent of assets must an ESOP invest in its company's stock?

A. 80 percent
B. 100 percent
C. 51 percent
D. 10 percent

39. The National Compensation Survey is an ongoing activity of the

A. AFL-CIO.
B. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
C. American Management Association.
D. Society for Human Resource Management.

40. Three of the following are objectives of the unemployment insurance program. Which is not an objective of the unemployment insurance program?

A. To offset lost income during a labor dispute
B. To preserve investments in worker skills by providing income during short-term layoffs
C. To provide an incentive for employers to stabilize employment
D. To offset lost income during involuntary unemployment