Q&A Hero

Q: Scenario 10.1Ellen Jones is the human resource manager for Tent-Sations, a midsize company that manufactures recreational camping tents. Tent-Sations employs approximately two hundred employees. Ellen is in the process of redesigning the company's performance management system. She has been instructed by top management to develop a performance management system that encourages employees to go beyond their formal job duties. Therefore, top management would also like the performance management system to assess particular employee behaviors that specifically support organizational goals in addition to employees' everyday job tasks. Supervisors in this fast-paced organization have limited opportunity to view their subordinates' performance on a daily basis. Employees work in self-managed cross-functional work teams, with each team being responsible for the entire tent-making process. With input from supervisors, each team sets its own output goals for each month of the year and employee compensation is based on the team's goal achievement as well as on individual performance factors.Refer to Scenario 10.1. Ellen would like to ensure that Tent-Stations employees who are asked to do performance appraisals are as accurate as possible. All of the following actions may be helpful in this regard EXCEPTa. frame-of-reference training.b. rewards for raters who do a good job of performance appraisal.c. rater-accuracy training.d. elimination of any threat of punishment for raters who do a poor job of performance appraisal.e. reinforcement to raters of the importance of performance appraisal.

Q: The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires: a. Unemployment pay for fired workers b. 60 days notice of plant closures for employers with over 100 employees c. 100 days notice of plant closures for employers with over 60 employees d. notice only to senior managers of plant closings

Q: Scenario 10.1Ellen Jones is the human resource manager for Tent-Sations, a midsize company that manufactures recreational camping tents. Tent-Sations employs approximately two hundred employees. Ellen is in the process of redesigning the company's performance management system. She has been instructed by top management to develop a performance management system that encourages employees to go beyond their formal job duties. Therefore, top management would also like the performance management system to assess particular employee behaviors that specifically support organizational goals in addition to employees' everyday job tasks. Supervisors in this fast-paced organization have limited opportunity to view their subordinates' performance on a daily basis. Employees work in self-managed cross-functional work teams, with each team being responsible for the entire tent-making process. With input from supervisors, each team sets its own output goals for each month of the year and employee compensation is based on the team's goal achievement as well as on individual performance factors.Refer to Scenario 10.1. By considering employees behaviors that go beyond their formal job duties, what aspect of performance is being included in the new performance management system?a. Contextual performanceb. Strategic performancec. Behavioral performanced. Critical performancee. Incident performance

Q: Apprenticeship training: a. is an old concept, traced to the middle ages b. was created by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 c. is no longer used d. will probably be President Clinton's major legacy

Q: Scenario 10.1Ellen Jones is the human resource manager for Tent-Sations, a midsize company that manufactures recreational camping tents. Tent-Sations employs approximately two hundred employees. Ellen is in the process of redesigning the company's performance management system. She has been instructed by top management to develop a performance management system that encourages employees to go beyond their formal job duties. Therefore, top management would also like the performance management system to assess particular employee behaviors that specifically support organizational goals in addition to employees' everyday job tasks. Supervisors in this fast-paced organization have limited opportunity to view their subordinates' performance on a daily basis. Employees work in self-managed cross-functional work teams, with each team being responsible for the entire tent-making process. With input from supervisors, each team sets its own output goals for each month of the year and employee compensation is based on the team's goal achievement as well as on individual performance factors.Refer to Scenario 10.1. Considering the team-based approach used by Tent-Stations, which method for appraising performance would likely be the WORST choice?a. 360-degree feedbackb. Simple rankingc. Critical incidentd. BARSe. MBO

Q: Which of the following is a common characteristic of basic skills/literacy programs?a. Large group lecturesb. Videos done as cartoons c. Aptitude testingd. Pass/fail tests at the end of training

Q: Scenario 10.1Ellen Jones is the human resource manager for Tent-Sations, a midsize company that manufactures recreational camping tents. Tent-Sations employs approximately two hundred employees. Ellen is in the process of redesigning the company's performance management system. She has been instructed by top management to develop a performance management system that encourages employees to go beyond their formal job duties. Therefore, top management would also like the performance management system to assess particular employee behaviors that specifically support organizational goals in addition to employees' everyday job tasks. Supervisors in this fast-paced organization have limited opportunity to view their subordinates' performance on a daily basis. Employees work in self-managed cross-functional work teams, with each team being responsible for the entire tent-making process. With input from supervisors, each team sets its own output goals for each month of the year and employee compensation is based on the team's goal achievement as well as on individual performance factors.Refer to Scenario 10.1. Given Tent-Stations' work structure, what additional source of performance information may be critical in assessing employee performance?a. Supervisorsb. Peersc. Customersd. Selfe. Top management

Q: Basic skills include:a. MS word b. Excel c. Driving a stick shift card. Reading, writing and math

Q: Scenario 10.1Ellen Jones is the human resource manager for Tent-Sations, a midsize company that manufactures recreational camping tents. Tent-Sations employs approximately two hundred employees. Ellen is in the process of redesigning the company's performance management system. She has been instructed by top management to develop a performance management system that encourages employees to go beyond their formal job duties. Therefore, top management would also like the performance management system to assess particular employee behaviors that specifically support organizational goals in addition to employees' everyday job tasks. Supervisors in this fast-paced organization have limited opportunity to view their subordinates' performance on a daily basis. Employees work in self-managed cross-functional work teams, with each team being responsible for the entire tent-making process. With input from supervisors, each team sets its own output goals for each month of the year and employee compensation is based on the team's goal achievement as well as on individual performance factors.Refer to Scenario 10.1. Ellen, representing Tent-Stations' human resource department, will be in charge of all of the following facets of the new performance management system EXCEPTa. determining the timing of the performance appraisals.b. ensuring that performance standards are clearly communicated to employees.c. linking performance appraisal information to training and development efforts.d. linking performance appraisal information to the company's compensation system.e. collecting employees' performance information on a day-to-day basis.

Q: Which of the following is considered a basic employee skill?a. Windows 98 b. reading c. simple machine operationd. driving a car

Q: Which of the following is part of an informal career counseling programa. workshops.b. conferences.c. one-on-one interaction of employee and supervisor.d. career-development centers.e. fast-track programs.

Q: Which kinds of training may be needed to prepare new immigrants to enter the U.S. workforce?a. Basic skills b. Homemaking c. English as a second languaged. Both A & C will be needed

Q: Career management is ultimately the responsibility of the a. human resource manager. b. line supervisor. c. organization. d. individual. e. recruiter.

Q: By 2018 the racial minorities will account for how much of the U.S. workforce?a. Over one-third b. About 10% c. Well over 50%d. Almost 75%

Q: The type of error that involves giving low ratings to all employees by using unrealistically high standards is called a. central tendency. b. halo error. c. horns error. d. leniency. e. severity.

Q: Surveys have found that 73% of recent high school graduates lack:a. A driver's license b. Grammar and spelling skills c. Computer skillsd. The ability to speak English

Q: Susan was offered a promotion that requires relocating. Her husband and children are happy in the current location. Susan is stressed about the career management issue of a. duel-career management. b. work family balance. c. elder care. d. flexible work schedules. e. quality child care management.

Q: Which of the following is not a factor in the growing skills gap? a. The lack of basic skills of many high school graduates b. The increased sophistication of jobs c. The growing number of racial minorities and non-English speaking immigrants d. The aging of the workforce

Q: Which career stage may involves individuals' analysis of their own competencies and skills. a. Maintenance b. Individual assessment c. Establishment d. Retirement e. Trial

Q: Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding the individual perspectives on careers? a. Individuals who closely monitor their careers understand the reasons for success and failure. b. An individual's perception of work success or failure has an important impact on his or her self-image. c. Individuals can rely on their employer to manage their careers. d. Individuals who take responsibility for their careers are prepared to deal with career setbacks. e. Individuals directly experience the impact of career events.

Q: Teams should be created just to have them.

Q: All of the following would place limitations on the effectiveness of career planning EXCEPT a. individuals may find new opportunities outside the employing organization at unexpected times. b. the organization has little flexibility in altering the career paths it predicts for its employees over time. c. the organization's human resource needs can change over time. d. unanticipated mergers and acquisitions can change career opportunities. e. people can experience changes in interests or priorities.

Q: Customer service training does not need any financial incentive to be effective.

Q: What mechanism in the career planning process is designed to align the organization's and individual's expectations of the individual's role and career prospects within the organization? a. Individual assessment b. Specification of career paths c. Performance management d. Communication e. Career counseling

Q: Traditional sales techniques are being replaced by more consultative approaches.

Q: What is the final step in the career planning process? a. Individual assessment b. Career counseling c. Exploration d. Communication e. Trial

Q: Behavior modeling training has been found to be the most effective means for computer software training.

Q: Which career stage may involve individuals' viewing work as less important and nonwork activities as more important? a. Maintenance b. Disengagement c. Establishment d. Exploration e. Trial

Q: Learning in apprenticeship programs is based on competency levels and not on time requirements.

Q: Basic skills/literacy education deals with upgrading reading, writing and computational skills.

Q: A midcareer plateau happens during the ______ career stage. a. exploration b. establishment c. maintenance d. disengagement e. retirement

Q: Professional organizations such as ASTD almost never offer professional development training programs to their members.

Q: When a rater compares people against one another instead of using a set standard, which type of error is the rater exhibiting? a. Projection b. Halo c. Horns d. Contrast e. Distributional

Q: ISO 9000 was revised in 2000.

Q: At Lorenzo's workplace, the performance appraisal process includes measurements of organizational citizenship behaviors, such as volunteering for unpleasant tasks and helping new employees socialize into the work team. Lorenzo's employer is a. enforcing job requirements. b. using inappropriate information. c. committing a halo error. d. relying on a ranking method. e. rating contextual performance.

Q: SPC stands for Standard Practice Concept.

Q: The following item appears on a student evaluation form, to assess a student's preparation outside of class. What type of performance appraisal is represented by this example? 1 = Often unprepared when called on. Frequent late assignments. 2 = Sometimes unprepared when called on. Hands in 2-3 assignments late. 3 = Unprepared on occasion, but not often. Hands in 2 or fewer late assignments. 4 = Usually well-prepared when called on, but may be unprepared on 1-2 occasions. All assignments handed in on time. 5 = Always prepared when called on. Hands in every assignment early or on time. a. Management by Objective (MBO) b. Critical incident c. Simple ranking d. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) e. 360-degree feedback

Q: A career includes all of the following EXCEPT a. the various specific jobs that a person performs. b. the kinds of responsibilities and activities that make up those jobs. c. movements and transitions between jobs. d. wages. e. an individual's overall assessment of and feelings of satisfaction with these various components of her or his career.

Q: VPP stands for the Voluntary Protection Program.

Q: Amelia is attending college and majoring in parks and recreation management. During the summer she works with the Youth Conservation Corps doing trail maintenance and invasive species removal. Amelia is in the career development stage a. exploration. b. establishment. c. maintenance. d. disengagement. e. retirement.

Q: Apprenticeship training is most common in the Trucking Industry?

Q: Which type of performance appraisal rating method focuses on particularly good or bad performance? a. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) b. Behavioral Observation Scale (BOS) c. Management By Objective (MBO) d. Critical incident method e. Graphic rating scale

Q: A team is a group of individuals seen as linked in a social structure.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a potential problem associated with the use of graphic rating scales in the performance appraisal process? a. Attribution of too much objectivity to results b. Leniency or severity error c. The number of included performance dimensions must be restricted to a few d. Halo error e. Range restriction

Q: TQM stands for Total Quality Management

Q: TQM stands for Total Quality Maintenance.

Q: Supervisor Katy is establishing a list of the best to worst performers in the department. Which performance appraisal method is Katy utilizing? a. Paired comparison b. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) c. Behavioral Observation Scale (BOS) d. Forced distribution e. Simple ranking

Q: Self efficacy is a belief that one can perform a given behavior.

Q: Which method of performance appraisal involves grouping employees into frequencies of performance evaluations? a. Ranking b. Paired comparison c. Forced distribution d. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) e. Critical incident

Q: A ____ method of performance appraisal involves directly assessing each employee next to other employees. a. paired comparison b. 360-degree c. BARS d. rating e. graphic rating scale

Q: Technical training would include training in operating a computer driven machine?

Q: One role of the HRD group is to monitor that training is going as planned.

Q: 360-degree feedback utilizes information collected from a. customers. b. employees. c. supervisors. d. subordinates. e. all of these.

Q: Over 20% of U.S. adults can be classified as below basic in "quantitative literacy"?

Q: ____ are the most frequently utilized source of information in the appraisal process. a. Supervisors b. Peers c. Subordinates d. Customers e. Executives

Q: Which of the following factors could impact a supervisor's motivation, rather than ability, to provide a meaningful performance appraisal? a. Inadequate job knowledge b. Favoritism toward specific workers c. Inadequate opportunity to observe employee performance d. Changing technology, which may impact the supervisor's understanding of job tasks the employee is required to perform e. The supervisor's promotion from a different functional area of the organization

Q: According to Schein the dimensions of organizational roles include all of the following except:a. inclusionary b. functional c. hierarchicald. structural

Q: According to Fisher personal learning includes a. Goals, values and policies of the organization b. The necessary skills to do the job c. What to learn and who to learn from d. Learning from experience on the job

Q: The role of the rater in the performance appraisal process includes all of the following EXCEPT a. helping to develop clear performance standards. b. collecting information about employee performance behaviors. c. learning organizational performance standards. d. requiring the ratee to gain an understanding of how his or her behavior affects performance. e. preparing the employee to work at desired levels.

Q: According to Fisher learning about the organization includes a. Goals, values and policies of the organization b. The necessary skills to do the job c. What to learn and who to learn from d. Learning from experience on the job

Q: Which of the following is NOT considered one of the responsibilities of the organization in the performance appraisal process? a. To develop the general performance appraisal process b. To determine the timing of the performance appraisals c. To make clear and specific performance standards available to managers d. To have the ratee express a clear, unbiased view of his or her performance e. To communicate performance standards to employees

Q: What should be considered the ultimate goal of performance appraisal? a. To provide performance information in a useful form b. To provide information about an individual's performance on all relevant dimensions c. To be able to improve performance on the job d. To document employment-related decisions based on performance e. To determine equitable rewards

Q: According to the text, what newcomers to an organization need MOST is (are):a. accurate expectations of the job b. good computer skills c. a high level of educationd. really strong interpersonal skills

Q: Which of the following is one of the different terms for performance appraisal a. performance evaluation. b. performance review. c. employee appraisal. d. employee evaluation. e. all of these are different terms for performance appraisal.

Q: Expectations of new employees should be:a. Very low - they are new b. Very high - challenge them c. Never used for new employeesd. Reasonable to reduce turnover

Q: Which of the following was NOT given as a reason for the importance of performance appraisal? a. It helps managers assess the quality of their recruitment and selection activities. b. It provides documentation that an organization's promotion and reward allocation activities are nondiscriminatory. c. It plays a large role in allocation of profit-sharing rewards to employees. d. It provides useful input into an organization's human resource planning process. e. It provides feedback to employees, which may enhance their motivation and development.

Q: Norms are: a. The requirements of the job b. Company policies c. Unwritten rules of conduct established by the group d. Determined by Federal and State laws.

Q: Anticipatory socialization begins:a. The first day of work b. About 10 days after you start work c. Before you join the organizationd. About 3 months after orientation

Q: Andy, a regional manager for an office supply retail company, must formally evaluate each one of his immediate employees every year. This process is known as a. benchmarking. b. feedback interview. c. 360-degree feedback. d. discipline documentation. e. performance appraisal.

Q: Role conflict occurs when:a. people think the role they are performing is more than they can reasonably dob. people think they are receiving mixed messages about what is expected of themc. people feel their roles are uncleard. a lot of fights take place at work

Q: Compare employee wellness programs and employee assistance programs.

Q: An effective program to get people started in an organization (e.g., an orientation program) is important because: a. it will help get rid of poor performers b. it makes sure everyone understands all company policies c. it reduces benefit costs d. it reduces start-up costs

Q: What is pay compression? Discuss the possible consequences of pay compression.

Q: Discuss the concept of job evaluation, including the most common methods used by organizations.

Q: In your text, the process of adjusting to a new organization is called:a. organizational adjustment b. organizational socialization c. corporate learningd. company adjustment time

Q: Compare and contrast US and German benefits.

Q: It is not important for an organization to continually evaluate the effectiveness of their orientation programs.

Q: Discuss the various factors that may influence an organization's compensation strategy.

Q: In general, RJP's have been found to have a beneficial effect on turnover, satisfaction and commitment.

Q: Executive compensation is usually based on salary and incentive pay.