When you have completed your exam and reviewed your answers, click Submit Exam. Answers will not be recorded until you hit Submit Exam. If you need to exit before completing the exam, click Cancel Exam. Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. Based on the expectation that two people in conflict should first try to arrive at a settlement together, the organization has a policy of making managers available to hear complaints. Typically, the first open door is that of the employee's
A. director. B. immediate supervisor. C. peers. D. immediate subordinates.
2. Total quality management differs from traditional performance measurement in that TQM
A. focuses on support decisions about work assignments, training, and compensation. B. assesses both individual performance and the system within which the individual works. C. is a top-down review process. D. has an external, rather than an internal, focus.
3. Which of the following is a false statement about the glass ceiling?
A. The barrier may be due to a lack of access to training programs, developmental job experiences, and developmental relationships, such as mentoring. B. The barrier may be due to stereotypes that hinder the development of women and minorities. C. Research shows male managers receive more assignments involving high levels of responsibility than do female managers of similar ability and managerial level. D. Research has found gender differences in accessing job experiences involving transitions and creating change.
4. If a performance measure lacks _______ reliability, determining whether an employee's performance has truly changed over time will be impossible.
A. strategic B. interrater C. test-retest D. external
5. Which of the following is a false statement about using peers as a source of performance information?
A. Peer ratings are particularly useful when supervisors don't have the opportunity to observe employees. B. Peer ratings, according to research, are highly influenced by friendships. C. Peers are more willing participants in reviews used for employees.
D. Peers have expert knowledge of job requirements and bring a unique perspective to the evaluation, often resulting in extremely valid assessments of performance.
6. In which performance technique are managers given three performance rating scales per dimension and asked to indicate whether the employee's performance is above (+), at (0), or below (-) the statements?
A. Behaviorally anchored rating scale B. Mixed-standard scale C. Behavioral-observation scale D. Graphic-rating scale
7. Advantages of result-based measures include three of the following. Which is not an advantage of resultbased measures?
A. Result-based measures are highly acceptable to employees and managers alike. B. Result-based measures are generally less subjective than other kinds of performance systems. C. Result-based measures are very effective in providing guidance on how to improve. D. Result-based measures are relatively easy to link to the organization's goals.
8. In terms of job dissatisfaction, an employee who calls in sick or arrives to work late is engaging in
A. physical withdrawal. B. psychological withdrawal. C. behavior change. D. whistleblowing.
9. Which of the following statements illustrates effective feedback?
A. "You've become careless; you came in late three times last week." B. "You've achieved 100 percent of your target in less than six months." C. "I don't see any progress from the last review; you're lazy." D. "Overall, your performance has been satisfactory."
10. A team of five to seven employees is assigned a problem and must work together to solve it within a certain time period. Which of the following techniques is being used?
A. Role playing B. In-basket exercise C. Discussion D. Leaderless group discussion
11. The Job Descriptive Index measures three of the following facets of employee satisfaction. Which is not measured by the Job Descriptive Index?
A. Pay B. Coworkers C. Customers D. The work itself
12. Which of the following statements about benchmarks is false?
A. The items measured by benchmarks are based on research into the lessons that executives have learned as a result of critical events within their careers. B. The managers' supervisors, their peers, and the managers themselves must complete the instrument to ensure its effectiveness. C. While managers enjoy completing the instrument and find the results interesting, research is inconclusive regarding the skills measured and their relationship to on-the-job performance. D. The instrument measures 16 skills and perspectives, such as how well managers deal with subordinates, acquire resources, and create a productive work climate.
13. Which of the following statements correctly describes in-basket exercises?
A. In-basket exercises require teams of five to seven employees to work together to solve assigned problems within a certain time period. B. In-basket exercises are paper-and-pencil tests designed to measure participants' communication styles and skills. C. In-basket exercises simulate the administrative tasks of a manager's job, using a pile of documents for the employee to handle. D. In-basket exercises require participants to take the part of a manager or employee in a situation involving the skills to be assessed.
14. An employee refuses an employer's request to falsify the contents of a report to the EEOC. The employer subsequently discharges the worker for "not following orders." In a wrongful-discharge suit, the employee is likely to argue which of the following exceptions to the at-will-employment doctrine?
A. Public policy B. Equal employment C. Implied contract D. Reverse discrimination
15. Generally speaking, the contents of employees' e-mail and voice-mail messages on companies' systems are
A. protected and private if job-related. B. private, protected communications. C. not private, protected communications. D. protected and private only if they're directed to parties outside of the company.
16. HR professionals can best help organizations avoid and defend against charges of wrongful discharge through all of three following activities. Which of the following is not a good way for HR professionals to help organizations avoid and defend against charges of wrongful discharge?
A. Training managers to avoid making promises before or during employment that imply job security B. Establishing and communicating policies for handling employee misbehavior C. Writing and reviewing employee handbooks to avoid statements that might be interpreted as employment contracts D. Designing jobs with low mental and physical skill demands to ensure low employee turnover
17. Why would an employee seek a downward move?
A. To have greater challenges B. To increase salary and visibility C. To learn different skills
D. To have more authority
18. What is the employee's responsibility in the self-assessment stage of career management?
A. Identify steps and a timetable to reach goals B. Communicate performance evaluations C. Provide assessment information to identify strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values D. Identify opportunities and areas of needed improvement
19. An Individual Coaching for Effectiveness program is designed to
A. reduce the effects of the glass ceiling. B. improve managers in succession planning. C. help prepare managers for overseas assignments. D. help managers with dysfunctional behaviors.
20. To improve performance of underutilizers, managers should
A. demote them from their current position. B. offer temporary assignments for skill development. C. withhold pay increases. D. link rewards to performance outcomes.
