Test bank for human resource management 10th edition by byars

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Chapter 01
Human Resource Management: A Strategic Function
True / False Questions

1. Human resource management (HRM) encompasses those activities designed to provide for
and coordinate the human resources of an organization.
True False

2. The Human Resource (HR) function in an organization represents one of the organization's
largest investments.
True False

3. Human resource development is concerned with designing and implementing compensation
and benefit systems for all employees.
True False

4. Human resource management is seen as being much narrower and more clerically oriented
than personnel management.
True False

5. One of the human resource functions is to provide assistance to employees with personal
problems that influence their work performance.
True False

6. The primary function of a human resource department is to provide support to operating
managers on all human resource matters.
True False

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7. A human resource generalist is a manager who performs human resource functions in
addition to his normal managerial activities.
True False

8. A human resource department normally acts in an advisory capacity and does not have
authority over operating managers.
True False

9. Today HRM is clearly divorced from the management and the strategic planning process of
the organization, and occupies a purely administrative role.
True False

10. The age of retirement has been gradually decreasing over the last ten years.
True False

11. Downsizing is the laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees.
True False

12. Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic
improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed is known as outsourcing.
True False

13. Telecommuting is becoming more popular in today's organizations.
True False

14. It is desirable for human resource managers to become well-rounded businesspeople.
True False

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15. HR managers should take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating managers,
ceasing to focus on the importance of increasing profits.
True False

16. The level of communication should be determined by the instigator of the
communication.
True False

17. The HR scorecard system uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate
performance.
True False

18. Information is the raw material from which data is developed.
True False

19. The Web-based human resource systems (eHR) that many organizations have
implemented have not really helped to communicate human resource programs.
True False

Multiple Choice Questions

20. When an organization is sold, the purchase price may be higher than the total value of the
physical and financial assets. This difference is sometimes called ____.
A. virtual value
B. goodwill
C. level price

D. potential value

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21. Which of the following major HR functions would include forecasting HR requirements
of the organization?
A. Compensation and benefits
B. Development
C. Employee and labor relations
D. Planning, recruitment, and selection

22. Which of the following major HR functions would include providing assistance to
employees with personal problems?
A. Development
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Research
D. Safety and health

23. Which of the following major HR functions would include designing discipline and
grievance handling systems?
A. Safety and health
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Planning, recruitment, and selection
D. Research

24. Which of the following major HR functions would include providing a human resource
information base?
A. Compensation and benefits

B. Development
C. Employee and labor relations
D. Research

25. Which of the following major HR functions would include building effective teams within
the organization?
A. Development
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Research
D. Safety and health

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26. The major functions of human resource management include all of the following
EXCEPT:
A. Human resource selection
B. Financial management
C. Compensation and benefit administration
D. Safety and health

27. A human resource generalist is:
A. an HR professional who works on a freelance basis with several small companies.
B. one who devotes most of his time to HR issues but does not specialize in any one area.
C. a person specially trained in one or more areas of human resource management.
D. a manager who performs HR functions in addition to his normal managerial activities.

28. _____ refers to the broad spectrum of HR activities involved in obtaining and managing
the organization's human resources.

A. Human resource development
B. Human resource research
C. Talent management
D. Employee and labor relations

29. In small organizations, most human resource functions are performed by the owner or by
____.
A. human resource generalists
B. operating managers
C. human resource specialists
D. talent managers

30. The text identifies the primary function of the human resource department as that of:
A. maintaining personnel records and engaging in human resource research.
B. hiring and firing employees.
C. providing support to operating managers on all human resource matters.
D. administering payroll.

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31. The age of the American workforce on average is:
A. decreasing.
B. increasing.
C. remaining constant.
D. impossible to predict.

32. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of an older workforce?
A. Adaptability

B. Experience
C. Reliability
D. Stability

33. According to a survey published in Monthly Labor Review, November 2009, almost half
the new entrants during the 2008 – 2018 time span will be ____.
A. men
B. women
C. white men
D. Hispanic women

34. The _____ labor force is the smallest group in the U.S. labor force.
A. Hispanic
B. White
C. Asian
D. Black

35. Which of the following is a disadvantage in increasing organizational diversity?
A. Wider viewpoints
B. Tolerance of behavioral variety
C. Responsiveness to diverse customer base
D. More time required to deal with interest groups

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36. Continuous and proactive assessment of mission-critical work and its staffing
requirements is known as ____.
A. reengineering

B. rightsizing
C. downsizing
D. outsourcing

37. The laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees is known as:
A. downsizing.
B. outsourcing.
C. rightsizing.
D. reengineering.

38. Subcontracting work to an outside company that specializes in that particular type of work
is known as ____.
A. rightsizing
B. downsizing
C. outsourcing
D. reengineering

39. Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic
improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed is known as ____.
A. downsizing
B. reengineering
C. rightsizing
D. outsourcing

40. In organizations using self-managed work teams:
A. employees are not responsible for their actions.
B. groups of peers are responsible for a particular area or task.
C. employees report to a single manager.
D. workers are involved in telecommuting.

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41. Empowerment is a management approach which involves:
A. giving managers the power to hire and fire employees.
B. giving subordinates substantial authority to make decisions.
C. subcontracting the work to an outside company.
D. centralization of power in the hands of top management.

42. Working at home by using an electronic linkup with a central office is known as ____.
A. reengineering
B. outsourcing
C. empowerment
D. telecommuting

43. In the majority of Fortune 500 companies, the head of the human resource department,
usually a vice president, answers to the CEO of the company. In many companies, the head of
the human resource department sits on the board of directors, the planning committee, or both.
These trends are indicative of how HR managers:
A. are continuing to occupy a largely administrative role in most modern organizations.
B. are dealing with a shrinking role in most organizations today.
C. today need to possess competencies far less sophisticated than their predecessors.
D. are increasingly involved in the organization's strategic and policy-making activities.

44. Spending more time with the line people, keeping a hand on the pulse of the organization,
and learning to calculate costs and solutions in hard numbers, are all suggestions to help HR
managers to:
A. become more familiar with their businesses.
B. learn more about present and future trends in HR.

C. take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating managers.
D. view their role in the organization primarily as transactional.

45. Metrics refers to _____ used to assess workforce performance.
A. any set of qualitative measures
B. any set of quantitative measures
C. any online database
D. any set of qualitative and quantitative measures

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Full file at />
46. The HR scorecard system:
A. uses largely quantitative measures.
B. is the predecessor of the balance scorecard system.
C. measures the overall contribution of the HR function to the well-being of the organization.
D. relates specifically to measures about people in the organization and their performances.

47. Which of the following is a measurement and control system that uses a mix of
quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate performance?
A. Metrics
B. Business intelligence
C. HR scorecard
D. Dashboarding

48. Which of the following is a guideline for effectively communicating human resource
programs?
A. Avoid communicating in peer group or "privileged-class" language.
B. Disregard the cultural and global aspects of communication.

C. Ignore the perceptual and behavioral aspects of communication.
D. Avoid interpreting data when transmitting it.

49. Which of the following can be defined as "the raw material from which information is
developed; it is composed of acts that describe people, places, things, or events that have not
been interpreted"?
A. Communication
B. Data
C. Knowledge
D. Perception

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Essay Questions

50. What are the six major functions of human resource management as identified by the
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)?

51. Explain the human resource development function carried out by the human resource
management.

52. Explain the terms human resource generalist and human resource specialist.

53. Identify the three types of assistance provided by human resource departments, giving an
example of each.

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54. What are the various advantages and disadvantages of diversity in the workforce?

55. What are the various factors which cause structural changes in an organization?

56. What is telecommuting?

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57. Explain the term empowerment.

58. Point out at least five different ways in which human resource managers can have a direct
impact on organizational performance.

59. List the various guidelines to be followed for communicating human resource programs.

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Chapter 01 Human Resource Management: A Strategic Function Answer Key

True / False Questions

1. (p. 3) Human resource management (HRM) encompasses those activities designed to provide
for and coordinate the human resources of an organization.
TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

2. (p. 3) The Human Resource (HR) function in an organization represents one of the
organization's largest investments.
TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

3. (p. 4) Human resource development is concerned with designing and implementing
compensation and benefit systems for all employees.
FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

4. (p. 4) Human resource management is seen as being much narrower and more clerically
oriented than personnel management.
FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

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Full file at />
5. (p. 4) One of the human resource functions is to provide assistance to employees with
personal problems that influence their work performance.
TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

6. (p. 5) The primary function of a human resource department is to provide support to
operating managers on all human resource matters.
TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

7. (p. 5) A human resource generalist is a manager who performs human resource functions in
addition to his normal managerial activities.
FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

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Full file at />
8. (p. 6) A human resource department normally acts in an advisory capacity and does not have
authority over operating managers.
TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

9. (p. 6) Today HRM is clearly divorced from the management and the strategic planning
process of the organization, and occupies a purely administrative role.
FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

10. (p. 7) The age of retirement has been gradually decreasing over the last ten years.

FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

11. (p. 9) Downsizing is the laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees.
TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

12. (p. 9) Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve
dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed is known as outsourcing.
FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

13. (p. 10) Telecommuting is becoming more popular in today's organizations.
TRUE

Difficulty: Easy

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Full file at />
14. (p. 11) It is desirable for human resource managers to become well-rounded businesspeople.
TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

15. (p. 11) HR managers should take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating

managers, ceasing to focus on the importance of increasing profits.
FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

16. (p. 13) The level of communication should be determined by the instigator of the
communication.
FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

17. (p. 13) The HR scorecard system uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to
evaluate performance.
TRUE

Difficulty: Medium

18. (p. 14) Information is the raw material from which data is developed.
FALSE

Difficulty: Easy

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19. (p. 14) The Web-based human resource systems (eHR) that many organizations have
implemented have not really helped to communicate human resource programs.
FALSE

Difficulty: Medium

Multiple Choice Questions

20. (p. 3-4) When an organization is sold, the purchase price may be higher than the total value
of the physical and financial assets. This difference is sometimes called ____.
A. virtual value
B. goodwill
C. level price
D. potential value

Difficulty: Easy

21. (p. 4) Which of the following major HR functions would include forecasting HR
requirements of the organization?
A. Compensation and benefits
B. Development
C. Employee and labor relations
D. Planning, recruitment, and selection

Difficulty: Medium

22. (p. 4) Which of the following major HR functions would include providing assistance to
employees with personal problems?
A. Development
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Research
D. Safety and health

Difficulty: Medium

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Full file at />
23. (p. 4) Which of the following major HR functions would include designing discipline and
grievance handling systems?
A. Safety and health
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Planning, recruitment, and selection
D. Research

Difficulty: Medium

24. (p. 4) Which of the following major HR functions would include providing a human
resource information base?
A. Compensation and benefits
B. Development
C. Employee and labor relations
D. Research

Difficulty: Medium

25. (p. 4) Which of the following major HR functions would include building effective teams
within the organization?
A. Development
B. Employee and labor relations
C. Research
D. Safety and health

Difficulty: Medium

26. (p. 4) The major functions of human resource management include all of the following
EXCEPT:
A. Human resource selection
B. Financial management
C. Compensation and benefit administration
D. Safety and health

Difficulty: Easy

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Full file at />
27. (p. 5) A human resource generalist is:
A. an HR professional who works on a freelance basis with several small companies.
B. one who devotes most of his time to HR issues but does not specialize in any one area.
C. a person specially trained in one or more areas of human resource management.
D. a manager who performs HR functions in addition to his normal managerial activities.

Difficulty: Medium

28. (p. 5) _____ refers to the broad spectrum of HR activities involved in obtaining and
managing the organization's human resources.
A. Human resource development
B. Human resource research
C. Talent management
D. Employee and labor relations

Difficulty: Easy

29. (p. 5) In small organizations, most human resource functions are performed by the owner or
by ____.
A. human resource generalists
B. operating managers
C. human resource specialists
D. talent managers

Difficulty: Medium

30. (p. 5) The text identifies the primary function of the human resource department as that of:
A. maintaining personnel records and engaging in human resource research.
B. hiring and firing employees.
C. providing support to operating managers on all human resource matters.
D. administering payroll.

Difficulty: Medium

buy this full document at


Full file at />
31. (p. 6) The age of the American workforce on average is:
A. decreasing.
B. increasing.
C. remaining constant.
D. impossible to predict.

Difficulty: Medium

32. (p. 7) Which of the following is NOT an advantage of an older workforce?
A. Adaptability
B. Experience
C. Reliability
D. Stability

Difficulty: Medium

33. (p. 7) According to a survey published in Monthly Labor Review, November 2009, almost
half the new entrants during the 2008 – 2018 time span will be ____.
A. men
B. women
C. white men
D. Hispanic women

Difficulty: Medium

34. (p. 7) The _____ labor force is the smallest group in the U.S. labor force.
A. Hispanic
B. White
C. Asian
D. Black

Difficulty: Medium

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Full file at />

35. (p. 8) Which of the following is a disadvantage in increasing organizational diversity?
A. Wider viewpoints
B. Tolerance of behavioral variety
C. Responsiveness to diverse customer base
D. More time required to deal with interest groups

Difficulty: Medium

36. (p. 9) Continuous and proactive assessment of mission-critical work and its staffing
requirements is known as ____.
A. reengineering
B. rightsizing
C. downsizing
D. outsourcing

Difficulty: Easy

37. (p. 9) The laying off of large numbers of managerial and other employees is known as:
A. downsizing.
B. outsourcing.
C. rightsizing.
D. reengineering.

Difficulty: Easy

38. (p. 9) Subcontracting work to an outside company that specializes in that particular type of
work is known as ____.
A. rightsizing
B. downsizing
C. outsourcing

D. reengineering

Difficulty: Easy

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Full file at />
39. (p. 9) Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve
dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed is known as ____.
A. downsizing
B. reengineering
C. rightsizing
D. outsourcing

Difficulty: Easy

40. (p. 10) In organizations using self-managed work teams:
A. employees are not responsible for their actions.
B. groups of peers are responsible for a particular area or task.
C. employees report to a single manager.
D. workers are involved in telecommuting.

Difficulty: Medium

41. (p. 10) Empowerment is a management approach which involves:
A. giving managers the power to hire and fire employees.
B. giving subordinates substantial authority to make decisions.
C. subcontracting the work to an outside company.
D. centralization of power in the hands of top management.

Difficulty: Medium

42. (p. 10) Working at home by using an electronic linkup with a central office is known as
____.
A. reengineering
B. outsourcing
C. empowerment
D. telecommuting

Difficulty: Easy

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Full file at />
43. (p. 10-11) In the majority of Fortune 500 companies, the head of the human resource
department, usually a vice president, answers to the CEO of the company. In many
companies, the head of the human resource department sits on the board of directors, the
planning committee, or both. These trends are indicative of how HR managers:
A. are continuing to occupy a largely administrative role in most modern organizations.
B. are dealing with a shrinking role in most organizations today.
C. today need to possess competencies far less sophisticated than their predecessors.
D. are increasingly involved in the organization's strategic and policy-making activities.

Difficulty: Medium

44. (p. 11) Spending more time with the line people, keeping a hand on the pulse of the
organization, and learning to calculate costs and solutions in hard numbers, are all suggestions
to help HR managers to:

A. become more familiar with their businesses.
B. learn more about present and future trends in HR.
C. take a moralistic approach when dealing with operating managers.
D. view their role in the organization primarily as transactional.

Difficulty: Medium

45. (p. 12) Metrics refers to _____ used to assess workforce performance.
A. any set of qualitative measures
B. any set of quantitative measures
C. any online database
D. any set of qualitative and quantitative measures

Difficulty: Medium

46. (p. 13) The HR scorecard system:
A. uses largely quantitative measures.
B. is the predecessor of the balance scorecard system.
C. measures the overall contribution of the HR function to the well-being of the organization.
D. relates specifically to measures about people in the organization and their performances.

Difficulty: Medium

buy this full document at


Full file at />
47. (p. 13) Which of the following is a measurement and control system that uses a mix of
quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate performance?
A. Metrics

B. Business intelligence
C. HR scorecard
D. Dashboarding

Difficulty: Easy

48. (p. 14) Which of the following is a guideline for effectively communicating human resource
programs?
A. Avoid communicating in peer group or "privileged-class" language.
B. Disregard the cultural and global aspects of communication.
C. Ignore the perceptual and behavioral aspects of communication.
D. Avoid interpreting data when transmitting it.

Difficulty: Medium

49. (p. 14) Which of the following can be defined as "the raw material from which information
is developed; it is composed of acts that describe people, places, things, or events that have
not been interpreted"?
A. Communication
B. Data
C. Knowledge
D. Perception

Difficulty: Medium

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Full file at />
Essay Questions

50. (p. 4) What are the six major functions of human resource management as identified by the
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)?
The six major functions of human resource management as identified by the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) are:
1) Human resource planning, recruitment, and selection.
2) Human resource development.
3) Compensation and benefits.
4) Safety and health.
5) Employee and labor relations.
6) Human resource research.

Difficulty: Medium

51. (p. 4) Explain the human resource development function carried out by the human resource
management.
The human resource development function involves the following activities:
• Orienting and training employees.
• Designing and implementing management and organizational development programs.
• Building effective teams within the organizational structure.
• Designing systems for appraising the performance of individual employees.
• Assisting employees in developing career plans.

Difficulty: Easy

52. (p. 5) Explain the terms human resource generalist and human resource specialist.
A human resource generalist is a person who devotes a majority of working time to human
resource issues, but does not specialize in any specific areas of human resource management.
A human resource specialist is a person specially trained in one or more areas of human
resource management (e.g., labor relations specialist, wage and salary specialist).

Difficulty: Easy

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