Current Trends And Cases In Hrm Set 1

Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management (BBA HRM)

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This set of Current Trends and Cases in HRM Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on Current Trends And Cases In Hrm Set 1

Q1 | As the director of HR, you are in a meeting with your corporate officers discussing the firm’s deliberate use of human resources to gain a competitive edge against your competitors in the marketplace. You are discussing:
  • your HR strategy for the company.
  • the general business environment in which your company must operate.
  • the tactics you plan to use in reaching corporate objectives.
  • the individual issues that are involved in creating your HR plan.
  • the legal environment in which your company operates.
Answer: the general business environment in which your company must operate.
Q2 | Tony works in the finance department as an accounting clerk. He keeps a time cardand receives extra pay for any overtime he works. Tony is:
  • an exempt line employee.
  • a nonexempt staff employee.
  • an exempt staff employee.
  • a nonexempt line employee.
  • not in any of these categories.
Answer: a nonexempt staff employee.
Q3 | An example of an individual challenge that HRM faces is:
  • ethical dilemmas and social responsibility.
  • competitive position.
  • downsizing’simpact on employees.
  • workforce diversity.
  • evolving family and work roles.
Answer: ethical dilemmas and social responsibility.
Q4 | HRM faces a number of environmental challenges, including:
  • increasing organizational labor costs.
  • decentralization of decision making.
  • marketplace globalization.
  • the need to empower company employees.
  • self-managed work teams.
Answer: marketplace globalization.
Q5 | Due to the increasing work pace and burnout in the United States, more workers are facing higher degrees of stress. According to your text, some companies have chosen to:
  • provide employees with coaching/stress management courses.
  • resort to continual-hiring practices to replace workers.
  • encourage employees to take longer breaks during the work day.
  • do more work from home, in a family environment.
  • inform potential employees of this challenge during the interviewing process.
Answer: provide employees with coaching/stress management courses.
Q6 | Which of the following is NOT true of the Internet Revolution as it relates to HRM?
  • U.S. corporate spending on Internet technology is increasing.
  • Companies now must pay particular attention to legal issues concerning information passed over the Internet.
  • The percentage of firms using the Internet reached 80% in 2000.
  • Cross-cultural understanding is not as important, for the Internet is its own community with its own culture.
  • It is a major factor in helping employees find employers and vice-versa through job finding sites.
Answer: Cross-cultural understanding is not as important, for the Internet is its own community with its own culture.
Q7 | RCA is working on a corporate identity that smoothes over cultural differences in order to increase cooperation within the firm. RCA is addressing the HRM challenge of:
  • globalization.
  • rapid change.
  • legislation.
  • competitive environment.
  • matching the individual to the job.
Answer: globalization.
Q8 | Kori and Joe are discussing their firm’s HRM strategies for dealing with a sexual harassment suit. Their discussion exemplifies the HRM environmental challenge stemming from:
  • globalization.
  • workforce diversity.
  • legislation.
  • organizational culture.
  • matching people to the organization.
Answer: legislation.
Q9 | A dual-career family is one in which:
  • the major “bread-winner” works two jobs.
  • the wife is a homemaker and the husband works outside of the home.
  • the major “bread-winner” experiences a career change and takes a new job.
  • both husband and wife work.
  • both husband and wife own their own business.
Answer: both husband and wife work.
Q10 | In today’s labor market, companies that do not strive to be family-friendly are:
  • in violation of Federal EEO legislation.
  • wasting significant talent by losing women who cannot sacrifice their family lives for a career.
  • experiencing increasing nepotism at the top of their organizationalstructures.
  • less likely to suffer from key skillshortages.
  • demonstrating significant inflexibility in their staffing practices.
Answer: wasting significant talent by losing women who cannot sacrifice their family lives for a career.
Q11 | Growth in service sector employment is tied to:
  • advances in technology that eliminate manufacturing jobs.
  • the increasing number of women entering the workforce.
  • the decrease in immigration into the United States.
  • increasing efforts to match individualsto the correct jobs.
  • an overabundance of highly educated job candidates.
Answer: advances in technology that eliminate manufacturing jobs.
Q12 | The need for skilled employees in the United States:
  • has intensified in the service sector, which has produced more jobs than manufacturing.
  • has intensified in manufacturing, as the turnaround in the “rust belt” has resulted in a 20% decease in jobs.
  • has decreased as the number of service, technical, and managerial jobs requiring a college education has declined.
  • is easing as both private and government training programs’ funding has resulted in a highly trained workforce.
  • has decreased due to increased immigration of highly educated information workers.
Answer: has intensified in the service sector, which has produced more jobs than manufacturing.
Q13 | The fastest growing occupations in the United States:
  • require a college degree for most entry-level positions.
  • typically provide on-the-job training for new employees.
  • are in technical fields.
  • require two years of college training.
  • are related to the federal government.
Answer: require two years of college training.
Q14 | The most important organizational issue that affects an organization’s competitive advantage is:
  • its ability to control costs.
  • the expatriation of foreign managers.
  • the development of joint ventures and collaborations with foreign firms.
  • its use of technology.
  • its organizational structure.
Answer: its ability to control costs.
Q15 | The Imitation Products is considering how to specialize their product in order to create a niche for themselves and how much they should spend to improve the product while considering the cash flow increase that may come from product specialization. Imitation is discussing their:
  • decentralization strategies.
  • Total Quality Management (TQM).
  • competitive position.
  • human resource strategy.
  • organizational restructuring.
Answer: Total Quality Management (TQM).
Q16 | The three elements of a company’s competitive position include which of the following?
  • Its downsizing strategies.
  • Its ethical code of conduct and position on social responsibility.
  • Its creation of distinctive capabilities.
  • Self-managing work teams.
  • Coping with its external environment.
Answer: Its creation of distinctive capabilities.
Q17 | Transferring responsibility and decision-making authority from central office staff to the people closest to the situation that demands attention is an example of:
  • decentralization.
  • corporate restructuring.
  • the effect of the evolving nature of work roles.
  • downsizing.
  • outsourcing.
Answer: decentralization.
Q18 | One potential pitfall of decentralizing a firm is:
  • the inflexibility that decentralizing a firm causes.
  • the few opportunities it leaves for employees to move up the company hierarchy.
  • more layers of management will need to be created, thereby slowing flow of communication between authorities and local managers.
  • a decrease in clear communication between the firm authority and local employees may lead to insecurity and a lack of focus within the firm.
  • dissatisfaction among employees who want more responsibility and decision-making authority.
Answer: a decrease in clear communication between the firm authority and local employees may lead to insecurity and a lack of focus within the firm.
Q19 | The current trend to downsize results in:
  • higher commitment levels among employees as they try to perform in such a way as to prevent being laid off.
  • an increased poor performance stigma for those laid off.
  • significantly decreased HRM costs due to outplacement and unemployment claims.
  • increased social problemsfor local governments and companies to deal with.
  • increased diversity among the workforce and those firms dealing with layoffs.
Answer: increased social problemsfor local governments and companies to deal with.
Q20 | Organizational restructuring over the past two decades has led to:
  • hybrid organizations with diverse histories and workforces.
  • fewer job opportunities for women and minorities.
  • more managers and fewer laborers as automation eliminates lower-level jobs.
  • more megacorporations with multiple layers of management.
  • greater entrepreneurship.
Answer: hybrid organizations with diverse histories and workforces.
Q21 | Tammy has a small jam-and-jelly business and has joined up with Hillside Farm toproduce “Hillside Farm Preserves.” This type of partnership is called:
  • co-laboring.
  • a joint venture.
  • cooperative marketing.
  • a business cooperative.
  • downsizing.
Answer: a joint venture.
Q22 | In 2000, mergers and acquisitions will have reached a new peak of:
  • $100 billion.
  • $150 billion.
  • $1 trillion.
  • $1.5 trillion.
  • $2 trillion.
Answer: $1.5 trillion.
Q23 | Self-managed work teams are:
  • an uncommon method of managing a small business.
  • a system of management in which employees must report directly to superiors in order to ensure productivity.
  • very costly to the companies who must pay benefits to team members.
  • groups of peers in a company setting who take responsibility for a particular area or task.
  • a positive contribution to large corporations who are worried about being too “top heavy.”
Answer: groups of peers in a company setting who take responsibility for a particular area or task.
Q24 | The contributions self-managed work teams can offer a large firm are:
  • often minimal.
  • not very well researched.
  • generally very positive.
  • apt to decline as companies become more decentralized.
  • never significant enough to warrant a change in most businesses.
Answer: generally very positive.
Q25 | Small businesses have grown over the last decade. This growth may be attributed toa number of factors, including:
  • minorities breaking the glass ceiling.
  • the increase in “intrapreneurship” in large corporations.
  • large corporations becoming less attractive places to work, due to layoffs and fewer management opportunities.
  • the growth and development of organizational cultures because of extensive restructuring in American corporations.
  • the globalization of the marketplace.
Answer: large corporations becoming less attractive places to work, due to layoffs and fewer management opportunities.
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