HRMGT REVIEWER ( Chapter Forecasting and Planning

1. The first step in the human resource planning process is _____. 

 
A. forecasti
ng
B. goal
setting
C. program
implementation
D. program
evaluation
E. groupthi
nk
 
2. The process of attempting to ascertain the supply and demand for various types of
human resources is called _____. 
 
A. outsourci
ng
B. downsizin
g
C. delegati
on
D. forecasti
ng
E. implementati
on
 
3. Which of the following is true of statistical forecasting methods that capture historic
trends? 
 
A. They are useful for predicting events in the labor market that have no
historical precedent.
B. They are particularly useful in situations where there is no long,
stable history.
C. They provide predictions that are much more precise than
judgmental methods.
D. They remove the need for subjective judgments of
experts.
E. They include variables like intuition and guesswork into economic
decision making.
 
4. How do statistical forecasting methods differ from judgmental forecasting methods with
regard to the labor market? 
 

A. Judgmental methods are not useful in situations that have no historical

precedent.
B. Statistical methods are the best option for events that have no historical
precedent.
C. Forecasting using judgmental methods is always more precise than forecasting using
statistical methods.
D. Statistical methods are excellent for capturing
historic trends.
E. Judgmental methods are better than statistical methods for events that have
historical precedent.
 
5. Which of the following is the definition for the term leading indicator? 
 
A. It is an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity between two
currencies.
B. It is a measurement of consumer confidence, which is defined as the degree of
optimism about the state of the economy.
C. It is an economic indicator found by adding the unemployment rate to the inflation
rate of an economy.
D. It is an indicator to measure changes in the price level of consumer goods and
services purchased by households.
E. It is an objective measure that accurately predicts future
labor demand.
 
6. Statistical planning models almost always have to be complemented by _____. 
 
A. competitor
information
B. subjective
judgments
C. transitional
matrices
D. unstable
history
E. labor
forecasts
 
7. A(n) _____ shows the proportion of employees in different job categories at different
times. 

A. invertible
matrix
B. transitional
matrix
C. definite
matrix
D. task role
matrix
E. orthogonal
matrix
 
Refer to the following hypothetical transitional matrix of the general HR department in a
large manufacturing organization.

   
 
8. How many of the total HR assistant managers employed in 2012 were promoted to the
HR manager position in 2013? 

A. 95
%
B. 9
%
C. 5
%
D. 86
%
E. 10
%
 
9. From which of the following job categories was no employee promoted in 2013? 
 
A. HR
assistant
B. HR
administrator
C. HR
practitioner
D. HR
coordinator
E. HR
officer
 
10. There were demotions from the _____ job category. 
 
A. HR
assistant
B. HR
administrator
C. HR
practitioner
D. HR
coordinator
E. HR
officer
 
11. How many of the HR practitioners employed in 2012 were promoted to the category of
HR officer in 2013? 
 

A. 2
%
B. 10
%
C. 5
%
D. 13
%
E. 8
%
 
12. Which of the following job categories saw the highest percent of its employees leave the
organization in 2013? 
 
A. HR
assistant
B. HR
coordinator
C. HR
practitioner
D. HR
administrator
E. HR
officer
 
13. Which of the following is true about transitional matrices? 
 

A. Transitional matrices can be read across rows but cannot be read from top
to bottom.
B. Transitional matrices provide a comparison of the proportion of workers in protected
subgroups with the proportion that each subgroup represents in the relevant labor
market.
C. Transitional matrices provide an objective measure of the effectiveness of an
organization's human resource recruitment policy.
D. Transitional matrices are extremely useful for charting historical trends in a
company's supply of labor.
E. Transitional matrices show the increase in productivity of employees over a
period of time.
 
14. The goals that are set in the human resource planning process should come directly
from: 
 

A. the mid-level managers who tend to be most in touch with the

organization's needs.
B. the results of the previous year's appraisal
process.
C. the analysis of the labor supply and
demand.
D. the strategic choices made by the company's top-level
managers.
E. the feedback provided by the organization's
customers.
 
15. The purpose of setting specific quantitative goals is: 
 

A. to make sure that employees are held accountable for achieving the
stated goals.
B. to ascertain whether or not the company has successfully avoided any potential labor
surpluses or shortages.
C. to collect data about current employees, measure their performances, and compare it
with global standards in order to get a better idea of the firm's international
competence.
D. to focus attention on a problem and provide a benchmark for determining the relative
success of any programs aimed at redressing a pending labor shortage or surplus.
E. to predict areas within the organization where there will be future labor shortages
or surpluses.
 
16. Due to a series of resignations from the organization, Zylon Inc., a large software firm is
facing an acute labor shortage. During which of the following human resource planning
steps would the firm contemplate several options to address the labor issue? 
 

A. Goal setting and strategic

planning
B. Program
evaluation
C. Forecastin
g
D. Program
implementation
E. Data
collection
 
17. Which of the following options is considered a slow option for reducing an expected labor
surplus and has a low impact on human suffering? 
 

A. Downsizin
g
B. Demotio
ns
C. Early
retirement
D. Pay
reduction
E. Temporary
employees
 
18. Which of the following options is considered a fast option for reducing an expected labor
surplus but results in high human suffering? 
 

A. Early
retirement
B. Retrainin
g
C. Hiring
freeze
D. Natural
attrition
E. Demotio
ns
 
19. Which of the following options for avoiding an expected labor shortage has the benefit of
being a fast solution with high revocability? 
 

A. Temporary
employees
B. Technological
innovation
C. Turnover
reductions
D. New external
hires
E. Retrainin
g
 
20. Which of the following options for avoiding an expected labor shortage is a slow solution
and has low revocability? 
 

A. Overtim
e
B. Temporary
employees
C. Retrained
transfers
D. Technological
innovation
E. Outsourci
ng
 
21. _____ is considered a slow option for avoiding an expected labor shortage but has high
revocability. 
 

A. Natural
attrition
B. Retrained
transfers
C. Outsourci
ng
D. Transfer
s
E. Technological
innovation
 
22. Which of the following is true of the several options available to reduce expected labor
surplus? 
 

A. Early retirement causes relatively less human

suffering.
B. The human suffering after pay reduction is
relatively low.
C. Retraining causes comparatively more human suffering than
other options.
D. A hiring freeze causes immense human
suffering.
E. Transfers cause the least amount of human
suffering.
 
23. _____ is the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel designed to enhance
organizational effectiveness. 
 

A. Homesourci
ng
B. Downsizin
g
C. Retireme
nt
D. Retrainin
g
E. Work
sharing
 
24. Each of the following is a relatively fast method to reduce an expected labor surplus
EXCEPT _____. 
 

A. work
sharing
B. retraini
ng
C. pay
reductions
D. demotio
ns
E. transfe
rs
 
25. Which of the following statements is true about downsizing? 
 

A. The typical organizational response to a surplus of labor has been downsizing, which is
slow but low in human suffering.
B. An organization turns to downsizing only in times of
recession.
C. In firms that are high in research and development intensity, downsizing has been
linked to higher long-term organizational profits.
D. The negative effects of downsizing seem to be reduced in service industries
characterized by high levels of customer contact.
E. Downsizing efforts often fail because employees who survive the purges often become
narrow-minded, self-absorbed, and risk-averse.
 
26. Which of the following is a method used to reduce an expected labor shortage that is low
on revocability? 
 

A. Overtim
e
B. New external
hires
C. Temporary
employees
D. Outsourci
ng
E. Retrained
transfers
 
27. Which of the following is most likely to lead to a successful downsizing? 
 

A. Avoiding indiscriminant
reductions
B. Informing employees that they are laid off via
emails
C. Downsizing at
random
D. Avoiding changes in the nature of
work roles
E. Removing the company's long-term
employees first
 
28. Which of the following best explains why older people approaching retirement age have
no intention of retiring? 
 

A. Many employers want to stay away from the costs of hiring a younger crowd and
refuse to retire the older workers.
B. Older workers typically occupy the best-paid jobs and hence prevent the hiring of
younger workers.
C. Improved health of older people in general, in combination with the decreased
physical labor in many jobs has made working longer a viable option.
D. Employers are ignoring situations where it is more expensive to pay for an older
worker's experience than hire younger employees.
E. Statistical forecasting results have shown that older people are an asset to an
organization's economic strength.
 
29. Which of the following is NOT one of the forces that draw out an older worker's career? 
 

A. The improved health of older people in

general
B. The fear of Social Security
being cut
C. Employers being constrained by age discrimination
legislation
D. Insufficient younger workers to replace the older
workforce
E. Employers' fear of losing the experience that older workers
possess
 
30. In the face of demographic pressures dealing with an aging workforce, many employers
try to use _____ among their older workers through early retirement incentive programs. 
 

A. paid
leave
B. job
rotation
C. work
sharing
D. voluntary
attrition
E. transfe
rs
 
31. Which of the following is a disadvantage of employing temporary workers as a means of
eliminating a labor shortage? 
 

A. The use of temporary workers adds up to many administrative tasks and financial
burdens associated with being the "employer of record."
B. Temporary workers pose no threat to current employees, which makes the overall
environment less competitive.
C. The low levels of commitment to the organization and its customers that temporary
workers bring with them often reduces the level of customer loyalty.
D. Many temporary agencies train employees prior to sending them over to employers,
which often means that the company has to retrain them in accord with its own
standards.
E. Because temporary workers have little experience in the host firm, the objective
perspective they bring is of no value.
 
32. Which of the following is true about temporary workers? 
 

A. Although they are temporary, these workers have to be included in

employee records.
B. The objective perspective that temporary workers bring along with them is of no value
because of their lack of experience.
C. Despite prior training from temporary agencies, companies have to retrain temporary
workers to match company standards.
D. Some full-time employees perceive the temporary help as a threat to their own
job security.
E. Instead of replacing long-term employees with temporary employees, many
organizations supplement their core staff with a small set of temporary workers who
act more like assistants to the core staff than potential replacements.
 
33. Which of the following is true about outsourcing? 
 

A. Outsourcing became a valid choice after certain methods of production and

manufacturing became obsolete.
B. Outsourcing is a logical choice when a firm simply does not have certain expertise and
is not willing to invest time and effort into developing it.
C. Technological advancements have slowed the momentum of outsourcing being
done today.
D. Statistical forecasting resulted in companies transferring their operations and
functions overseas.
E. Companies shifting their operations overseas did so because customers were
complaining about poor client services domestically.
 
34. A special case of outsourcing where the jobs that move actually leave one country and
go to another is called _____. 
 

A. homesourci
ng
B. co-
sourcing
C. reshorin
g
D. telecommuti
ng
E. offshorin
g
 
35. Is the argument that "call center" staffing is the only type of work being offshored valid? 
 

A. No, because countries to where jobs are being offshored are facing a shortage of
skilled labor and are refusing "call center" jobs.
B. Yes, because the level of education and infrastructure does not support high-end
support jobs like reading X-rays and other medical tests.
C. Yes, because the state of online security and privacy is less advanced in
developed countries.
D. No, because figures have shown that countries like China and India are trying to climb
the skill ladder of available work.
E. Yes, because in order to maintain employment rates in their own countries, companies
avoid offshoring jobs.
 
36. Which of the following is true about offshoring? 
 

A. The smaller and newer a vendor, the better it is for the company to
conduct business.
B. Small overseas upstarts do not take risks that larger, more established
contractors take.
C. Any work that is proprietary and requires tight security should be
offshored.
D. A company should avoid outsourcing work that is self-contained and does not need an
exchange of information.
E. Small overseas upstarts often promise more than they
can deliver.
 
37. When a company faces a shortage of employees in the work force, and it predicts that
current demand for products or services may not extend to the future, it will: 
 

A. try to garner more hours out of the existing

labor force.
B. recruit and train new
employees.
C. be willing to hire part-time
employees.
D. decrease the production rate by half to meet quality
standards.
E. lease out its machinery to other factories, thereby
maintaining income.
 
38. A _____ is a short-term elimination of paid workdays applied to salaried workers, as
opposed to hourly workers. 
 

A. work sharing
culture
B. demotio
n
C. furloug
h
D. layo
ff
E. suspensio
n
 
39. The programs developed in the strategic-choice stage of the process are put into
practice in the _____ stage. 
 

A. forecasti
ng
B. program-
implementation
C. goal-
setting
D. evaluati
on
E. program
feedback
 
40. A critical aspect of the program implementation step of human resource planning is: 
 

A. setting a benchmark for determining the relative success of a

program.
B. making sure that some individual is held accountable for achieving the
stated goals.
C. selecting the best option for redressing a pending labor shortage
or surplus.
D. ascertaining whether or not the company has successfully avoided any potential labor
surpluses or shortages.
E. focusing attention on redressing a pending labor supply
problem.
 
41. The final step in the planning process is to _____. 
 

A. evaluate
results
B. set goals and
objectives
C. formulate
strategies
D. establish forecasting
methods
E. implement recruiting
methods
 
42. The process of determining whether there are any subgroups whose proportion in a
given job category within a company is substantially different from their proportion in
the relevant labor market is called _____. 
 

A. adverse treatment
analysis
B. workforce utilization
review
C. subgroup
reconciliation
D. discrimination
analysis
E. leading
indicator
 
43. Which of the following is the accurate definition of workforce utilization review? 
 

A. It is a comparison of the proportion of workers in protected subgroups with the

proportion that each subgroup represents in the relevant labor market
B. It is a comparison of the proportion of workers who are underperforming with the
proportion of those in the labor market who are not yet hired
C. It is a comparison of the proportion of workers who are underperforming with the
proportion of those who are excelling in the workplace
D. It is a comparison of the proportion of workers who are being paid higher than the
national average with the proportion of workers who are being paid lower than the
national average
E. It is a comparison of the proportion of workers whose performance ratings are lower
than the internal average with the proportion of those whose performance ratings are
higher
 
44. _____ forecast and monitor the proportion of various protected group members, such as
women and minorities that are in various job categories and career tracks. 
 

A. Ethnocraci
es
B. Group
rights
C. Affirmative action
plans
D. T-test
techniques
E. Employment background
checks
 
45. _____ is the practice or activity carried on by an organization with the primary purpose of
identifying and attracting potential employees. 
 

A. Human resource
recruitment
B. Applicant tracking
system
C. Customer relationship
management
D. Sensitivity
training
E. Customer experience
transformation
 
46. _____ is a generic term used to refer to organizational decisions that affect the nature of
the vacancies for which people are recruited. 
 

A. Budgetary
policies
B. Personnel
policies
C. Judicial
policies
D. Fiscal
policies
E. Monetary
policies
 
47. Policies that state that either party in an employment relationship can terminate that
relationship at any time, regardless of cause, are called _____. 
 

A. due process
policies
B. employment-at-will
policies
C. counter cyclical hiring
policies
D. employee liability
policies
E. affirmative action
policies
 
48. A policy that lays out the steps an employee can take to appeal a termination decision is
called a(n) _____. 
 

A. counter cyclical hiring

policy
B. outsourcing
policy
C. employment-at-will
policy
D. due process
policy
E. affirmative action
policy
 
49. Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic reward? 
 

A. A manufacturing organization offering a monthly bonus on joining the firm at a

particular position in a particular city
B. A firm providing free vehicles to employees who are promoted to the
managerial level
C. The Army appealing to the patriotism in people to get more
new recruits
D. A bank offering loans at a subsidized rate to its
employees
E. A school management giving monthly bonuses to the
teachers
 
50. The approach that pays employees higher wages than what competitors pay their
employees in similar roles is called the _____. 
 

A. premium-wage
approach
B. free-rider
effect
C. lead-indicator
approach
D. lead-the-market
approach
E. first-mover
advantage
 
51. Sometimes, organizations advertise just to promote themselves as a good place to work
in general. This is called _____. 
 

A. product
advertising
B. image
advertising
C. informative
advertising
D. proactive
advertising
E. subliminal
advertising
 
52. Which of the following is an example of image advertising? 
 

A. Orange Inc. releases an advertisement promoting the product it

produces.
B. Paper Corp. publishes its profit details in the
newspaper.
C. Richmond Inc. releases an advertisement on television about an event it is
promoting.
D. Umbrella Corp. asks its employees to work on Saturdays for the next three months to
meet project deadlines.
E. Rain Inc. releases television advertisements that give an idea about the pleasant
working conditions in the organization.
 
53. Which of the following is an advantage of relying on internal recruitment sources? 
 

A. It is a good way to strengthen one's own company, while weakening one's competitors
at the same time, because it increases diversity.
B. It generates a sample of applicants who are well known to
the firm.
C. The applicants are relatively less knowledgeable about the company's vacancies and
are hence easily trainable.
D. Because of the applicants' lack of knowledge about a particular position, their
expectations are easy to meet.
E. It results in a workforce whose members all think alike and who therefore are more
suited to innovation.
 
54. _____ are people who apply for a vacancy without prompting from the organization. 
 

A. Internal
employees
B. Direct
applicants
C. Referral
s
D. Poached
employees
E. Virtual
employees
 
55. Ron works as a sale executive for Janus Inc., a large manufacturer of turbocharged
engines. He hears about a vacancy for sales manager at Ios Inc., a competitor in the
same industry, and sends in his résumé requesting Ios to consider him for the vacancy.
Ron is an example of a(n) _____. 
 

A. poached
employee
B. virtual
employee
C. internal
employee
D. referr
al
E. direct
applicant
 
56. _____ are people who are prompted to apply for a job by someone within the
organization. 
 

A. Direct
applicants
B. Internal
employees
C. Boomerang
employees
D. Referral
s
E. Virtual
employees
 
57. Jack is a maintenance supervisor at a large petroleum refinery in Texas. His friend,
Ronald, who works at another refinery in Louisiana, informs Jack about a vacancy for a
maintenance manager's position at the Louisiana refinery and asks him to apply for the
position. Jack is an example of a(n) _____. 
 

A. referr
al
B. direct
applicant
C. virtual
employee
D. internal
employee
E. poached
employee
 
58. Which of the following best exemplifies the process of self-selection? 
 

A. An applicant posts his/her resume on an online job

bulletin board.
B. An applicant decides to interview with a particular company while
at a job fair.
C. An applicant is asked to return for a second interview
with a firm.
D. An applicant asks a friend for advice on which companies to
apply to.
E. An applicant calls a firm to check whether or not he has been
selected.
 
59. Recruiting advertisements in newspapers and periodicals: 
 

A. are exempt from the requirements of Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act.
B. are used exclusively to attract applicants who are currently
employed.
C. are likely to typically generate less desirable candidates than direct applications
or referrals.
D. are generally used to attract candidates from a specific minority
community.
E. are less expensive than direct applications or
referrals.
 
60. Which of the following is the biggest downside for large job sites? 
 

A. Most job sites do not return with quick results, which can be frustrating for
an applicant.
B. The sheer size and lack of differentiation between candidates listed
on the site.
C. Job sites offer lackluster customer service, which is a huge disappointment for
applicants.
D. Most job sites post jobs that are completely unrelated to an employee's expertise
and job interest.
E. While they promise excellent service, the exuberant service charges discourage
applicants from using job sites.
 
61. The _____ requires that everyone receiving unemployment compensation be registered
with a local state employment office. 
 

A. Social Security
Act
B. Employers Liability
Act
C. Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act
D. Protection of Employment
Regulations
E. Equal Pay
Act
 
62. Executive search firms (ESFs): 
 

A. work almost exclusively with high-level, unemployed

executives.
B. require the person being placed to make the initial contact with the prospective
employer directly.
C. are unaffected by the reduced employment levels because of the recent
recession.
D. serve as an important confidentiality buffer between the employer and
the recruit.
E. have remained unaffected by the increased use of low cost electronic
search vehicles.
 
63. Yield ratios express the: 
 

A. output yielded by a new hire in relation to the cost of recruiting

the new hire.
B. percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment
and selection process to the next.
C. ratio between the price paid to a recruiting firm for potential applicants versus the
number of applicants hired.
D. cost of hiring new employees as opposed to promoting internal employees to
vacant positions.
E. quality of new hires by comparing the cost of training new recruits to the cost of
hiring them.
 
64. Which of the following pairs of recruiter characteristics does an applicant tend to
respond to most positively? 
 

A. Warmth and
informativeness
B. Race and
qualifications
C. Age and
experience
D. Gender and
warmth
E. Experience and
qualifications
 
65. Which of the following actions is most likely to enable organizations to increase the
impact that recruiters have on those they recruit? 
 

A. Withholding the company's

information
B. Excluding personnel
specialists
C. Recruiting
individually
D. Providing highly positive, unrealistic descriptions
of the job
E. Providing timely
feedback