Q&A Hero

Q: Advantages of a core workforce include _______________. A. stability, continuity, and predictability B. a sense of commitment and shared purpose toward the organization's purpose C. an organization can directly control how it acquires its workforce D. all of these

Q: A major disadvantage of a flexible work force is that _________. A. it leads to loss of some control over workers B. it can lead to conflict between core and flexible workers C. flexible workers are often less familiar with equipment D. all of these

Q: A key advantage of having a core work force is that it provides _________. A. greater predictability B. increased ability to rapidly modify organizational plans C. greater organizational profitability D. lower costs

Q: Human resource information systems provide which of the following functions for succession planning? A. Creating lists of employees who are ready to move into specific positions B. Seeking out passive candidates within the organization C. Tracking candidates across a variety of locations D. all of these

Q: For succession planning to work, organizations must also have ______. A. historical data on product demand B. training and development systems in place C. reimbursable expenditure accounts D. none of these

Q: Employment reconciliation analyzes gaps between ________. A. AA requirements and the external labor force B. future HR requirements and AA requirements C. future HR requirements and HR availability D. all of these

Q: Which of the following is not a shortcoming of using manager judgment for forecasting availability? A. managers may not know employee intentions B. the complexity of forecasting may overwhelm the manager C. managers are always overly aggressive in making estimates of hiring requirements D. none of these are shortcomings of manager judgment

Q: Manager judgment is an important method for staffing in __________. A. organizations with extensive records on human resources outcomes B. smaller organizations C. organizations with lateral diffusion of responsibility D. organizations in the manufacturing sector

Q: Which of the following creates a problem for Markov analysis? A. large sample sizes B. lack of employee moves C. poor economic conditions D. small sample sizes

Q: In Markov analysis for staffing, __________ is used to forecast future workforce availabilities. A. cost data B. product demand C. transition probabilities D. bayesian inference

Q: A transition matrix would appear in a __________. A. regression analysis B. stochastic analysis C. Markov analysis D. time series analysis

Q: Markov analysis is a technique for ___________. A. job analysis B. availability forecasting C. HR requirement forecasting D. seniority estimation

Q: Which of the following would not be addressed in forecasting HR availabilities? A. Promotions B. Transfers C. Exits D. Motivation level

Q: A manager has collected data on sales, the economy, and taxes over a number of years, and statistically estimates an equation that describes how each of these predictors has affected staffing levels in the past. This equation is used to predict future staffing levels. This is an example of ______________. A. regression analysis B. ratio analysis C. trend analysis D. Markov analysis

Q: A manager has collected data on the dollar value of sales and has divided this by the number of FTE. Assuming this relationship will hold in the future, and using projected sales, the manager estimates the number of employees required. This is an example of ______________. A. regression analysis B. ratio analysis C. trend analysis D. Markov analysis

Q: A manager has gathered data on staffing levels over time, and then predicts future requirements based on the pattern of demand, taking seasonal variations in demand into account. This equation is used to predict future staffing levels. This is an example of ______________. A. regression analysis B. ratio analysis C. trend analysis D. Markov analysis

Q: Population-based HRP consists of __________. A. organizational responses to sudden changes in the environment B. planning focused on a specific employee group C. planning that is part of the organization's strategic planning process D. planning based on best practices of competitors

Q: Project-based HRP consists of __________. A. organizational responses to sudden changes in the environment B. planning focused on a specific employee group C. planning that is part of the organization's strategic planning process D. planning based on best practices of competitors

Q: Plan-based HRP consists of __________. A. organizational responses to sudden changes in the environment B. planning focused on a specific employee group C. planning that is part of the organization's strategic planning process D. planning based on best practices of competitors

Q: The process of determining reconciliation and gaps tells managers ______. A. how many employees will be needed for jobs in the coming period B. why employees are leaving the organization C. which activities should be performed to place new employees in appropriate positions D. when employees are most likely to quit

Q: Human resource planning activities most directly involve ______. A. assessing external environmental factors B. forecasting labor requirements and availabilities C. generating technological replacements for labor D. all of these

Q: Which of the following is a likely effect of technology on employment demand? A. Changes in the skill requirements of the workforce B. Elimination of some jobs C. Creation of new jobs D. All of these

Q: Which of the following are likely responses to labor shortages? A. Decreased pay and benefits packages B. Hiring bonuses and stock options C. Decreased use of temporary employees D. Higher hiring standards

Q: What percentage of employers believe high school graduates are deficient in work habits such as professionalism, critical thinking, personal accountability, and time management? A. 70% B. 15% C. 40% D. 95%

Q: In general, the labor force is becoming _____. A. younger B. older C. less skilled D. less diverse

Q: What is the set of intangible factors, including the expressed vision of executives, hierarchy and bureaucracy, and style of communication, that influences attitudes and behavior in organizations called? A. Organizational strategy B. Organizational culture C. The labor market D. None of the these

Q: Which of the following is a major part of organizational strategy's influence on staffing? A. Demographic trends B. Current financial and human resources in the organization C. Financial and marketing goals D. Both current financial and human resources in the organization and financial and marketing goals

Q: Which of the following are likely to occur during job expansion periods? A. New hire rates increase for entry level jobs, but decrease for higher level jobs B. Departure of some employees to take opportunities at other firms C. Stagnation of movement through internal labor markets D. Reductions in turnover rates

Q: Some states have banned the use of AAPs for government contractors and educational institutions.

Q: Replacement goals from AAPs are often legally termed "quotas" for minorities and women in an organization.

Q: A general rule of thumb is that if the ratio of incumbency percentage for a group to their availability is less than 80%, the organization should establish a placement goal to increase minority representation.

Q: Federal contractors are legally required to have AAPs in place.

Q: The components of AAPs are enforced by the Department of Workforce Diversity (DWD).

Q: AAPs are organization-specific plans that have a legal origin and basis.

Q: Targeted recruitment, inclusion of women and African-Americans on top management teams, work family accommodations, and affirmative action plans increase the racial and gender diversity of the organization's managerial workforce.

Q: Many organizations do not take demographic shifts in the workplace into account when developing staffing plans.

Q: Studies show that women and minorities are largely indifferent to whether an organization has a commitment to diversity in their recruiting efforts.

Q: Evidence suggests that demographically diverse teams are far more effective than homogeneous teams.

Q: Active diversity planning occurs when the organization encourages underrepresented minorities to apply for positions, actively recruits from a variety of sources, and provides additional training and mentoring to underrepresented groups.

Q: Despite popular press to the contrary, there hasn't really been an increase in the number of Latinos and Asians in the American workforce.

Q: Organizations need to take diversity into account because the workforce has become more diverse.

Q: One reason organizations outsource is because specialized vendors can achieve economies of scale for routine tasks that would be performed across many organizations.

Q: Outsourcing is confined almost exclusively to manufacturing work.

Q: Outsourcing is a more drastic step than using independent contractors or temporary employees.

Q: A flexible workforce can be obtained by using staffing firms or independent contractors.

Q: Employing organizations usually have a lot of control over the quality of the flexible workforce.

Q: Companies often prefer internal hiring because it gives them a large labor market to recruit from.

Q: Internal hiring methods are often less expensive than external hiring methods.

Q: Sometimes members of the internal workforce will resent external hires, which can limit the effectiveness external hiring.

Q: A flexible workforce can bring in new technical and administrative knowledge that isn't available from the core workforce.

Q: A core workforce is an excellent technique for acquiring new technical and administrative knowledge.

Q: A core workforce is nearly always less expensive than a flexible workforce because the core workforce will accept lower pay and benefits.

Q: One advantage of a core workforce is that the organization maintains the legal right to control employees working in its behalf, in terms of both work process and expected results.

Q: If an organization faces a surplus of workers, it is likely that they will have to either downsize or encourage voluntary retirement, because there aren't many alternatives to these actions.

Q: Long term options for dealing with an employee shortage include hires, transfers into the position, retraining workers, or transferring the work out of the firm.

Q: Staffing objectives are derived from identified gaps between requirements and availabilities.

Q: Replacement and succession planning are conducted primarily for managerial jobs.

Q: Succession planning precedes replacement planning.

Q: Through replacement and succession planning the organization constructs internal talent pipelines.

Q: When conducting Markov analysis, it is desirable to have 20 or more employees in each job category/level.

Q: Markov Analysis is used to assess a previous period's workforce supply on the basis of historical patterns of external applications.

Q: In scenario planning, a variety of potential issues that might affect future plans is considered, and multiple different strategies corresponding to each scenario for the coming year are developed simultaneously.

Q: Manager judgment is an ideal method for forecasting workforce availabilities for companies with large numbers of employees in many job categories.

Q: Trend analysis directly takes into account external factors that might change trends.

Q: In regression analysis, historical predictors of workforce size, like sales or new customers, are used to predict staffing levels.

Q: The key to ratio analysis is assessing each promotable employee for KSAO or competency gaps, and where there are gaps, creating employee training and development plans that will close the gap.

Q: Statistical techniques are of little importance to HR managers and should usually be rejected as methods for evaluating HRP needs.

Q: Counting the number of employees on payroll may be a misleading indicator of the workforce because it ignores the amount of scheduled time worked by each employee relative to a full workweek.

Q: Planning based on a specific group of employees, such as faculty in specialized areas of a university or nursing employees, is called population-based HRP.

Q: In project based HR planning, the organization's representatives set up a system that looks far into the future and tries to avoid consideration of short term perturbations in the market.

Q: In plan-based HR planning, the organization's representatives set up a system that is integrally related to the organization's strategic planning process.

Q: The process of developing a strategy of HR should start with a vision and goals, and only then progress to developing potential strategies for achieving these goals.

Q: The gap between current workforce size and available workforce size is a critical part of the reconciliation process.

Q: In human resources planning, a comparison is made between labor force requirements and labor availability.

Q: Advances in technology always result in net job destruction, which is one of the main reasons unemployment rates have continued to increase over time.

Q: Some of the most significant workforce trends affecting staffing planning include high costs of healthcare, increased global competition, and greater need for cross-cultural business knowledge.

Q: Most employers note that high school graduates have more than adequate skills in the areas of reading comprehension, writing, and math, but do not have sufficient critical thinking and time management skills.

Q: Data from the U.S. Department of labor shows that labor force participation has been rapidly increasing in recent years.

Q: Projections suggest that job growth is likely to occur in services sectors, whereas mining and agriculture will likely see declines in demand for workers.

Q: When a company's values are consistent with practices that employees encounter on a day-to-day basis, motivation, communication, and retention are enhanced.