100+ Current Trends and Cases in HRM Solved MCQs

Cases for questions Case 1.1 Caplin Company is 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 their current HR strategies. During the meeting, the management team asks the HR Director to profile 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, but supervisors still tend to be white males. The management team begins to discuss how to control costs, improve quality, and create distinctive capabilities. Several ideas are raised, discussed, and either tabled or assigned to an individual for further exploration. Some managers noted that people tend to come in at start time and take 30 minutes to get down to work and that they begin to pack up for the day 30 minutes before quitting time. People don’t seem all that concerned about working hard and producing quality products. As the team wraps up the day’s meeting, they briefly discuss their commitment to the surrounding community. As a cost-cutting measure, they had eliminated their support of an Adult Literacy program, in which volunteers used company facilities to conduct reading classes. The management team decides that they should reinstate the program and appoints the Director of HR to notify the local literacy council. Case 1.2 As the manager of HR, you are leading the management team of an old established company 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 commit to 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 Case 1.3 Your company sells high-tech products throughout the world and is focusing on a differentiation strategy. The business environment for the company is volatile, rapidly changing, and highly complex. The company is highly entrepreneurial and has a strong moral commitment to quality products, employee job satisfaction, and contributing to the surrounding community. Finally, the management team has decided to create a common company culture among the various national and international subsidiaries to reduce cultural differences and tensions. Case 1.4 Crowe, Inc. has been a powerful steel producer for the last 15 years and sees only positive prospects in the future. The company provides employees with long-lasting careers and has only recently seen the potential to lose a significant number of workers. The company is very stable and has an elaborate system for providing employees with promotions and transfers to higher levels within the company. Crowe has a very secure position within its industry and has no need to extend its production and services into different industries. However, some discontent has arisen among lower-level employees. Several employees were fired for on-the-job ethical violations. Those employees let go, in turn, convinced nearly 100 other employees to threaten to leave unless the policies regarding ethical violations are revised. In light of this event, Crowe’s HR department has decided to implement some strategies to curb former employees from causing others to leave, one of these being that in the instance that any exiting employee convinces another to leave the company, the company will take back the small stock option given to him/her. Prior to this, the company’s atmosphere was very congenial and featured camaraderie between employees at all levels. Now, there has been a noticeable negative shift in the attitude of the workers toward Crowe authority. Many employees are now filing more grievances against the management. Some noticeable hostility has also arisen from employees toward upper-level management.

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1.	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:
A.	your HR strategy for the company.
B.	the general business environment in which your company must operate.
C.	the tactics you plan to use in reaching corporate objectives.
D.	the individual issues that are involved in creating your HR plan.
E.	the legal environment in which your company operates.
Answer» B. the general business environment in which your company must operate.

2.	Tony works in the finance department as an accounting clerk. He keeps a time card and receives extra pay for any overtime he works. Tony is:
A.	an exempt line employee.
B.	a nonexempt staff employee.
C.	an exempt staff employee.
D.	a nonexempt line employee.
E.	not in any of these categories.
Answer» B. a nonexempt staff employee.

3.	An example of an individual challenge that HRM faces is:
A.	ethical dilemmas and social responsibility.
B.	competitive position.
C.	downsizing’simpact on employees.
D.	workforce diversity.
E.	evolving family and work roles.
Answer» A. ethical dilemmas and social responsibility.

4.	HRM faces a number of environmental challenges, including:
A.	increasing organizational labor costs.
B.	decentralization of decision making.
C.	marketplace globalization.
D.	the need to empower company employees.
E.	self-managed work teams.
Answer» C. marketplace globalization.

5.	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:
A.	provide employees with coaching/stress management courses.
B.	resort to continual-hiring practices to replace workers.
C.	encourage employees to take longer breaks during the work day.
D.	do more work from home, in a family environment.
E.	inform potential employees of this challenge during the interviewing process.
Answer» A. provide employees with coaching/stress management courses.

6.	Which of the following is NOT true of the Internet Revolution as it relates to HRM?
A.	U.S. corporate spending on Internet technology is increasing.
B.	Companies now must pay particular attention to legal issues concerning information passed over the Internet.
C.	The percentage of firms using the Internet reached 80% in 2000.
D.	Cross-cultural understanding is not as important, for the Internet is its own community with its own culture.
E.	It is a major factor in helping employees find employers and vice-versa through job finding sites.
Answer» D. Cross-cultural understanding is not as important, for the Internet is its own community with its own culture.

7.	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:
A.	globalization.
B.	rapid change.
C.	legislation.
D.	competitive environment.
E.	matching the individual to the job.
Answer» A. globalization.

8.	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:
A.	globalization.
B.	workforce diversity.
C.	legislation.
D.	organizational culture.
E.	matching people to the organization.
Answer» C. legislation.

9.	A dual-career family is one in which:
A.	the major “bread-winner” works two jobs.
B.	the wife is a homemaker and the husband works outside of the home.
C.	the major “bread-winner” experiences a career change and takes a new job.
D.	both husband and wife work.
E.	both husband and wife own their own business.
Answer» D. both husband and wife work.

10.	In today’s labor market, companies that do not strive to be family-friendly are:
A.	in violation of Federal EEO legislation.
B.	wasting significant talent by losing women who cannot sacrifice their family lives for a career.
C.	experiencing increasing nepotism at the top of their organizationalstructures.
D.	less likely to suffer from key skillshortages.
E.	demonstrating significant inflexibility in their staffing practices.
Answer» B. wasting significant talent by losing women who cannot sacrifice their family lives for a career.

11.	Growth in service sector employment is tied to:
A.	advances in technology that eliminate manufacturing jobs.
B.	the increasing number of women entering the workforce.
C.	the decrease in immigration into the United States.
D.	increasing efforts to match individualsto the correct jobs.
E.	an overabundance of highly educated job candidates.
Answer» A. advances in technology that eliminate manufacturing jobs.

12.	The need for skilled employees in the United States:
A.	has intensified in the service sector, which has produced more jobs than manufacturing.
B.	has intensified in manufacturing, as the turnaround in the “rust belt” has resulted in a 20% decease in jobs.
C.	has decreased as the number of service, technical, and managerial jobs requiring a college education has declined.
D.	is easing as both private and government training programs’ funding has resulted in a highly trained workforce.
E.	has decreased due to increased immigration of highly educated information workers.
Answer» A. has intensified in the service sector, which has produced more jobs than manufacturing.

13.	The fastest growing occupations in the United States:
A.	require a college degree for most entry-level positions.
B.	typically provide on-the-job training for new employees.
C.	are in technical fields.
D.	require two years of college training.
E.	are related to the federal government.
Answer» D. require two years of college training.

14.	The most important organizational issue that affects an organization’s competitive advantage is:
A.	its ability to control costs.
B.	the expatriation of foreign managers.
C.	the development of joint ventures and collaborations with foreign firms.
D.	its use of technology.
E.	its organizational structure.
Answer» A. its ability to control costs.

15.	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:
A.	decentralization strategies.
B.	Total Quality Management (TQM).
C.	competitive position.
D.	human resource strategy.
E.	organizational restructuring.
Answer» B. Total Quality Management (TQM).

16.	The three elements of a company’s competitive position include which of the following?
A.	Its downsizing strategies.
B.	Its ethical code of conduct and position on social responsibility.
C.	Its creation of distinctive capabilities.
D.	Self-managing work teams.
E.	Coping with its external environment.
Answer» C. Its creation of distinctive capabilities.

17.	Transferring responsibility and decision-making authority from central office staff to the people closest to the situation that demands attention is an example of:
A.	decentralization.
B.	corporate restructuring.
C.	the effect of the evolving nature of work roles.
D.	downsizing.
E.	outsourcing.
Answer» A. decentralization.

18.	One potential pitfall of decentralizing a firm is:
A.	the inflexibility that decentralizing a firm causes.
B.	the few opportunities it leaves for employees to move up the company hierarchy.
C.	more layers of management will need to be created, thereby slowing flow of communication between authorities and local managers.
D.	a decrease in clear communication between the firm authority and local employees may lead to insecurity and a lack of focus within the firm.
E.	dissatisfaction among employees who want more responsibility and decision-making authority.
Answer» D. a decrease in clear communication between the firm authority and local employees may lead to insecurity and a lack of focus within the firm.

19.	The current trend to downsize results in:
A.	higher commitment levels among employees as they try to perform in such a way as to prevent being laid off.
B.	an increased poor performance stigma for those laid off.
C.	significantly decreased HRM costs due to outplacement and unemployment claims.
D.	increased social problemsfor local governments and companies to deal with.
E.	increased diversity among the workforce and those firms dealing with layoffs.
Answer» D. increased social problemsfor local governments and companies to deal with.

20.	Organizational restructuring over the past two decades has led to:
A.	hybrid organizations with diverse histories and workforces.
B.	fewer job opportunities for women and minorities.
C.	more managers and fewer laborers as automation eliminates lower-level jobs.
D.	more megacorporations with multiple layers of management.
E.	greater entrepreneurship.
Answer» A. hybrid organizations with diverse histories and workforces.

21.	Tammy has a small jam-and-jelly business and has joined up with Hillside Farm to produce “Hillside Farm Preserves.” This type of partnership is called:
A.	co-laboring.
B.	a joint venture.
C.	cooperative marketing.
D.	a business cooperative.
E.	downsizing.
Answer» B. a joint venture.

22.	In 2000, mergers and acquisitions will have reached a new peak of:
A.	$100 billion.
B.	$150 billion.
C.	$1 trillion.
D.	$1.5 trillion.
E.	$2 trillion.
Answer» D. $1.5 trillion.

23.	Self-managed work teams are:
A.	an uncommon method of managing a small business.
B.	a system of management in which employees must report directly to superiors in order to ensure productivity.
C.	very costly to the companies who must pay benefits to team members.
D.	groups of peers in a company setting who take responsibility for a particular area or task.
E.	a positive contribution to large corporations who are worried about being too “top heavy.”
Answer» D. groups of peers in a company setting who take responsibility for a particular area or task.

24.	The contributions self-managed work teams can offer a large firm are:
A.	often minimal.
B.	not very well researched.
C.	generally very positive.
D.	apt to decline as companies become more decentralized.
E.	never significant enough to warrant a change in most businesses.
Answer» C. generally very positive.

25.	Small businesses have grown over the last decade. This growth may be attributed to a number of factors, including:
A.	minorities breaking the glass ceiling.
B.	the increase in “intrapreneurship” in large corporations.
C.	large corporations becoming less attractive places to work, due to layoffs and fewer management opportunities.
D.	the growth and development of organizational cultures because of extensive restructuring in American corporations.
E.	the globalization of the marketplace.
Answer» C. large corporations becoming less attractive places to work, due to layoffs and fewer management opportunities.

100+ Current Trends and Cases in HRM Solved MCQs

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:

Tony works in the finance department as an accounting clerk. He keeps a time card and receives extra pay for any overtime he works. Tony is:

An example of an individual challenge that HRM faces is:

HRM faces a number of environmental challenges, including:

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:

Which of the following is NOT true of the Internet Revolution as it relates to HRM?

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:

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:

A dual-career family is one in which:

In today’s labor market, companies that do not strive to be family-friendly are:

Growth in service sector employment is tied to:

The need for skilled employees in the United States:

The fastest growing occupations in the United States:

The most important organizational issue that affects an organization’s competitive advantage is:

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:

The three elements of a company’s competitive position include which of the following?

Transferring responsibility and decision-making authority from central office staff to the people closest to the situation that demands attention is an example of:

One potential pitfall of decentralizing a firm is:

The current trend to downsize results in:

Organizational restructuring over the past two decades has led to:

Tammy has a small jam-and-jelly business and has joined up with Hillside Farm to produce “Hillside Farm Preserves.” This type of partnership is called:

In 2000, mergers and acquisitions will have reached a new peak of:

Self-managed work teams are:

The contributions self-managed work teams can offer a large firm are:

Small businesses have grown over the last decade. This growth may be attributed to a number of factors, including:

New businesses start every year. These start-ups are risky ventures, as nearly fail in their first year of operation.

Out of the number of small businesses that start every year, only will survive a decade.

Organizational culture:

An organization’s culture consists of a number of separate elements, such as:

A company’s organization culture does NOT manifest in:

The increased use of technology for telecommuting raises a number of issues for human resources, such as:

A critical ethical issue for HR managers related to technology use in work environments is:

The impact of technology on organizational structure can be seen in the:

Since companies can now monitor their employees’ use of the Internet and e-mail, which of the following is a legislative concern?

Knott’s Construction builds one house every month. Mr. Knotts and Scott perform all the structural work themselves while they subcontract the plumbing and electrical work. This subcontracting is an example of:

Outsourcing presents a number of challenges to Human Resources in that:

Rudy is writing a report about the individual challenges his firm is facing. Which of the following would Rudy NOT include in his report?

The relationship of the individual challenges HRM faces to the organizational challenges HRM faces:

The matching of people to the organization, not just to a job, is:

A study of small high-technology firms shows that they should hire people who are:

Creating and implementing ethics codes has generally:

When it comes to managers dealing with ethical issues, it is safe to say that:

Karl is trying to improve company productivity by focusing on employee competence. Karl is focusing on the factor of productivity.

You are talking with a manager about one of his employees, Tom. The manager describes Tom as a person who has a strong desire to do the best possible job and put in the maximum effort to perform his assigned tasks. The manager is describing Tom’s:

One goal of empowerment is:

One of your best MIS people left to work for a competitor. When she left, she took with her a partially completed proposal for an enhanced MIS system that would reduce costs and increase the speed of handling information. You’ve just experienced:

Many profitable American companies eliminate jobs ever year. This trend can be attributed to which of the following factors?

Strategic Human Resource Planning is:

Strategic Human Resource Planning provides a number of benefits to a company, such as:

Molly heads a large company that has just experienced a major brain drain. She immediately increases compensation to new employees and gives each employee with over 10 year experience an extra 3 days of paid vacation per year. This is an example of:

Managers who often depend on their personal views and experiences to solve problems and make business decisions run the risk of:

For the Strategic HR Planning Process to stimulate critical thinking:

Creating a sense of community and shared values and goals among employees at a firm can often increase:

One challenge of Strategic HR Planning is:

Ima is focusing on recruiting qualified employees for her growing company, reviewing benefit plans in order to offer competitive compensation packages, and is generally very involved with a number of urgent HR needs and “fire fighting.” Ima is facing the strategic HR planning challenge of:

The challenges inherent in Strategic HR Planning include:

Town House Publishing is implementing a new HR strategy, and to give it the best chance of succeeding, the HR department should:

The acid test for an HR strategic plan is:

Intended strategies are as opposed to emergent strategies, which are.

Emergent strategies generally:

Working on his HR strategic plan, Jose is thinking about whether to recommend specific job descriptions or broad job classes, and detailed or loose work planning. Jose is considering the HR strategic choice related to:

If a firm is working on its strategic HR choices in the staffing area, it would be looking at decisions about:

When considering HR strategies regarding employee separations, managers must consider:

When developing performance appraisals, a firm needs to make strategic HR choices concerning:

If an HR department is reviewing whether to use discipline as a control mechanism or as a proactive way to encourage appropriate behavior, it is considering its strategic choices within the HR function of:

Candles, Inc. is currently evaluating the they give their employees, including stock options, benefit packages, and raises based on performance.

Timberlake Corporation is reconsidering recent choices regarding employee and labor relations, including:

Which of the following is NOT a key strategic HR choice when working with international management in a business?

The relative contribution of an HR strategy to an organization’s performance increases:

Which of the following is NOT critically important when determining which HR strategies will positively impact a firm’s performance?

For an HR strategic plan to fit with organizational strategies, it needs to align with:

An evolutionary corporation would most likely display which of the following characteristics?

Which of the following HR strategies best fits a firm with an overall cost leadership business strategy?

A firm’s differentiation business strategy refers to:

An HR strategy that fits a company’s differentiation strategy would be:

HR strategies that fit a company’s focus strategy would be:

Firms that display a defender strategy generally:

Firmsthat are high on uncertainty or that operate in volatile environments would benefit most from HR strategies that involve:

Firms that are low on uncertainty and change and that operate in stable environments would benefit most from HR strategies that involve:

26.	New businesses start every year. These start-ups are risky ventures, as nearly fail in their first year of operation.
A.	10%
B.	25%
C.	35%
D.	40%
E.	50%
Answer» D. 40%

27.	Out of the number of small businesses that start every year, only will survive a decade.
A.	5%
B.	10%
C.	15%
D.	20%
E.	25%
Answer» B. 10%

28.	Organizational culture:
A.	is often shaped by HRM practices.
B.	can be defined in terms of the right or wrong culture.
C.	is made up of a number of elements such as norms, behaviors, values, etc.
D.	refers to basic assumptions and beliefsshared by members of an organization.
E.	isthe non-pervasive climate or atmosphere within which people work.
Answer» D. refers to basic assumptions and beliefsshared by members of an organization.

29.	An organization’s culture consists of a number of separate elements, such as:
A.	technology use.
B.	ethical dilemmas.
C.	labor unions.
D.	employee work habits.
E.	the working environment climate or feel.
Answer» E. the working environment climate or feel.

30.	A company’s organization culture does NOT manifest in:
A.	the relationships among the employees.
B.	worker safety.
C.	the employees’ uniforms, or lack thereof.
D.	organizational challenges.
E.	pay for performance.
Answer» D. organizational challenges.

31.	The increased use of technology for telecommuting raises a number of issues for human resources, such as:
A.	privacy rights regarding the data used by telecommuters.
B.	more layers of management to watch/monitor telecommuters.
C.	monitoring performance and overtime pay.
D.	outsourcing work rather than using fulltime employees.
E.	labor costs, as telecommuting is quite expensive.
Answer» C. monitoring performance and overtime pay.

32.	A critical ethical issue for HR managers related to technology use in work environments is:
A.	the increase in authoritarian management due to organizational restructuring.
B.	the improper use of proprietary data.
C.	self-managed work teams misusing technology to their own personal ends.
D.	overly close supervision of technology users.
E.	“window sitting.”
Answer» B. the improper use of proprietary data.

33.	The impact of technology on organizational structure can be seen in the:
A.	return of pyramidal structure due to the ease of transferring information between levels.
B.	increase in authoritarian management in order to control access to technology and information.
C.	changing nature of labor relations.
D.	decrease in employees working at home.
E.	ability of top management to bypass middle managers and deal directly with firstline managers.
Answer» E. ability of top management to bypass middle managers and deal directly with firstline managers.

34.	Since companies can now monitor their employees’ use of the Internet and e-mail, which of the following is a legislative concern?
A.	The decrease in employee productivity.
B.	Privacy issues regarding individuals.
C.	The “fuzzy line” between what could be seen as obscene to some people but harmless slang to others.
D.	The use of this information to plan surprise birthday parties for employees.
E.	The potential for the information to be used to compile mailing lists for different corporations.
Answer» B. Privacy issues regarding individuals.

35.	Knott’s Construction builds one house every month. Mr. Knotts and Scott perform all the structural work themselves while they subcontract the plumbing and electrical work. This subcontracting is an example of:
A.	organizational restructuring.
B.	the rise of the service sector.
C.	the growth of the small business.
D.	time efficiency.
E.	outsourcing.
Answer» E. outsourcing.