51.The current trends toward employee empowerment practices, gainsharing, skill-based pay, and self-managed work teams is due to the fact that:
a.these practices improve productivity.
b.these practices ensure workplace justice.
c.these practices ensure legal compliance.
d.these practices have been recently discovered.
52.Why are senior managers who approve new HRM practices usually unable to determine which ones are the best?
a.Because the efficacy of these practices cannot be measured.
b.Because unions do not allow these practices to be implemented.
c.Because these practices have been around for a short time only.
d.Because managers are unfamiliar with the research that documents which practices are best.
53.The most frustrating aspect of the typical HR professional’s job is:
a.salary relative to other mangers.
b.failure of organizations to take full advantage of HRM best practices.
c.size of HR staff relative to other management departments.
d.budget for his/her department.
54.How can HR professionals overcome the problem of the organization not taking full advantage of its HRM capabilities?
a.By demonstrating the dollar-value benefit of each HRM practice.
b.By demonstrating the bottom-line implications of each HRM practice.
c.By educating the senior management of the benefits of each HRM practice.
d.By linking nontraditional HRM practices to tangible business goals.
55.HR professionals can demonstrate the bottom-line implications of each HRM practice by linking traditional HRM practices to:
a.strategic goals.
b.tangible business goals.
c.organizational effectiveness.
d.productivity improvement programs.
56.All but which of the following are specific issues that HR professionals can tackle to expand their organizational role?
a.Organizational design
b.International management
c.Organizational restructuring
d.Organizational reengineering
57.What is the process of designing organizations in a way that best promotes productivity called?
a.Organizational setup
b.Organizational design
c.Organizational reengineering
d.Organizational restructuring
58.Competencies needed by HR professionals to become full business partners include all but which of the following?
a.Gain cross-functional experience.
b.Earn an advanced academic degree.
c.Gain cross-cultural experience.
d.Keep current with technology.
59.To gain credibility with line managers, HR professionals should do all but which of the following?
a.Interact with line managers and employees.
b.Practice management by getting out on the floor and finding out what is really going on.
c.Delegate more authority to line mangers with respect to HR activities.
d.Solicit manager and employee input when developing HR programs.
60.All but which of the following can help HR professionals gain credibility with upper management and board members?
a.Demonstrating how HRM practices help meet marketplace demands.
b.Demonstrating how HRM practices reinforces the glass ceiling.
c.Demonstrating how HRM practices improve product/service quality.
d.Demonstrating how HRM practices help reduce customer response time.