Question : 71) Mona interested in buying a new computer. She has : 1346169

71) Mona is interested in buying a new computer. She has heard that Shell processors are on the low end of the cost spectrum and that the company offers an excellent warranty. Mona is focused on the firm’s:

A) multiple appraisal inputs.

B) distinctive competencies.

C) entrepreneurial climate.

D) moral commitment.

A) alleviate the personnel management responsibility from managers.

B) develop technical expertise for effective recruiting.

C) support and help managers perform their jobs.

D) conduct all performance evaluations.

73) Which of the following actions would most likely foster an effective relationship between managers and HR?

A) focusing on the technical side of productivity and teaching it to HR

B) hiring outside consultants to assist HR in implementing its programs

C) requiring some management experience as part of HR professionals’ training

D) mandating after-work socializing among HR professionals and line managers

74) Carson is gathering information for an HR audit. With which of the following areas should he be concerned?

A) Work teams

B) Turnover rate

C) Available technology

D) Employee interdependence

75) The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers which of the following?

A) Diversity training

B) Benefits packages

C) Professional certification

D) Salary negotiations

Case 1.1

Managers at Caplin Company are having a strategic planning session with the director of HR. They are discussing the fit between the company’s overall management philosophy, organizational structure, organizational culture, and the firm’s current HR strategies. During the meeting, the management team asks the HR Director for a profile of the current workforce. The HR Director reports that the workforce used to be 85% white, 50% male. Now it is 50% white, 50% minority with twice as many women as men. Supervisors still tend to be white males.

The management team discusses how to control costs, improve quality, and create distinctive capabilities. Several ideas are raised, discussed, and tabled; some topics are assigned to an individual for further exploration. Managers comment that some workers arrive at start time, take 30 minutes before initiating any work, and begin to pack up for the day 30 minutes before quitting time. Managers also indicate that employees do not seem concerned about working hard or about building quality products.

As the meeting draws to a close, the team briefly discusses the firm’s commitment to the surrounding community. As a cost-cutting measure, the firm eliminated its support of an adult literacy program last year. Company facilities were used for conducting reading classes. The management team decides that the firm should reinstate the program and appoints the HR Director to notify the local literacy council.

76) Refer to Case 1.1. The change in the workforce at Caplin is an example of the environmental challenge of:

A) decentralization.

B) skill shortages.

C) workforce diversity.

D) rapid change.

77) Refer to Case 1.1. Caplin’s discussion of costs, quality, and capabilities shows that the firm is trying to address the:

A) organizational challenge of competitive position.

B) environmental challenge of rapid change.

C) individual challenge of matching workers with jobs.

D) market challenge of changing customer needs.

78) Refer to Case 1.1. Which of the following would most likely improve employee work habits at Caplin?

A) Offering telecommuting opportunities to all employees

B) Making adjustments to the firm’s organizational culture

C) Outsourcing most clerical jobs to overseas firms

D) Implementing a focus strategy

Case 1.2

As the manager of HR of an old, established company, you are leading the management team in a strategic planning session. During the planning session, managers are being forced to think about the future, see the likely changes in the marketplace, and make plans to use company resources to enhance their competitive edge.

The company decides that as part of its business strategy, it wants to attract and retain the best possible employees. You suggest that the company pay a hiring bonus, use a pay scale that is 10% above the industry average, and provide an extra week of vacation after only one year instead of the standard three years.

79) Refer to Case 1.2. The most likely benefit of this strategic planning session is:

A) communicating a specific business strategy for the firm.

B) identifying the constraints and capabilities of the firm’s HR.

C) exploiting and expanding the firm’s distinctive capabilities.

D) identifying gaps between the current situation and a future vision.

80) Refer to Case 1.2. If this firm chooses to also address its employee and labor relations, it should most likely:

A) review its policy on union avoidance or support.

B) develop policies to protect employee interests.

C) decentralize union policy formation.

D) promote exclusively from within.