2.
1 (a) Functions & evolution of HRM – question bank
Test your understanding of this topic by answering these questions. There are 3 sets of 20 questions
each. Answer all of them. For multiple choice there are no a,b,c,d given but consider the order as
a,b,c,d and answer accordingly in your word document.
Make sure to number the questions properly.
1) Which of the following practices would not help businesses improve their staff retention rate?
Increased working hours
Opportunities for promotion
Opportunities for professional development
Employee loyalty award schemes
2) Which term describes the reluctance of workers to move from one location to another for
better job opportunities?
Seasonal immobility
Labour immobility
Occupational immobility
Geographical immobility
3) Identifying and inviting the few suitable candidates from all the applicants who best fit the
profiles in a job description and person specification for an interview is referred to as what?
Longlisting
Selection
Shortlisting
Screening
4) A selection test designed to reveal the personalities of the candidate as well as their level of
motivation for the job are part of which type of testing?
Intelligence tests
Aptitude tests
Professional qualifications
Psychometric tests
5) Training can be classified into several main types. Which is the odd one out?
Behavioural
Cognitive
On-the-job
Mentoring
6) Training that culminates or results in desirable conduct or actions at work are referred to as
what?
On-the-job training
Behavioural training
Induction training
Cognitive training
7) The process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee by comparing his or her goals
with actual outcomes is referred to as what?
Feedback
Assessment
Appraisal
Progress report
8) Which of the following is not a direct reason for conducting appraisals?
To help to identify training needs
To help assess an employee’s performance against agreed targets
To help management reward high achieving employees through promotions and bonuses
To help improve workforce planning
9) Which type of appraisal involves collecting feedback about an employee’s job performance
from peers, line managers, subordinates and other people in contact with the employee?
360-degree appraisal
Self-appraisal
Formative appraisal
Summative appraisal
10) Which of the following is not a feature of a good system of employee appraisal at a
business?
If performance is less than satisfactory, it should be followed by counselling and training
It should result in new SMART targets for the employee for the forthcoming year
In case of a less than satisfactory performance, it should always result in a warning letter to the
employee or a dismissal
Appraisals should ideally be against a pre agreed criteria for an employee
11) Working away from the office using electronic forms of communication technologies such as
smartphones and Wi-Fi broadband is referred to as what?
Teleworking
Homeworking
Portfolio working
Job sharing
12) Which term describes outsourcing that involves relocating business activities and processes
overseas?
Relocating
Re-shoring
Outsourcing
Offshoring
13) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Skills person, specification, job description, recruitment, attributes, advertisements, analysis
Job is conducted prior to as it helps to identify what the
job vacancy actually entails. It is followed by the drafting of two important documents – the job
description and person specification. The is a document that provides the
details of a particular job, including the job title, roles, duties and responsibilities. It is often flexible so
as to make the most of the skills of employees. A includes the
desirable of the new recruit, such as their qualifications,
and experiences, or the ability to work well in teams. Job are typically
released after a job analysis has been completed.
14) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Management, workforce, total, professional, resources, high, culture
The labour turnover rate measures the proportion of an organization’s that
leave the business, per time period. It is calculated by using the formula: Labour turnover = Number
of workers leaving / number of workers × 100. Although some labour
turnover in any organization is inevitable (as some employees leave for personal or
reasons), a labour turnover rate is often indicative of an unhappy workforce.
This could be on account of a poor corporate or poor
of human .
15) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
A form of flexible work practice that enables employees to work a set
number of core hours each week, often at the office during peak periods of the day and/or week.
16) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The process of examining what a particular job involves, thereby enabling
the HR department to determine the roles, tasks, duties, responsibilities and skills required to do the
job.
17) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- An appraisal of the value of a job in relation to other jobs in the
organization, so that the remuneration and other rewards can be determined in an objective,
transparent and fair manner.
18) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The training process of pairing, or attaching, an employee (the
trainee or mentee) with a more experienced colleague (the mentor) who acts as a coach, trainer or
advisor.
19) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- Also known as subcontracting, this is the use of external (third-
party) personnel for certain non-core business operations.
20) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- A major and vital aspect of human resource management, this
refers to the procedures involved in the hiring of the right employees, with the right aptitudes and
attitudes.
2.1 (b)
1) Which of the following is not associated with a high labour turnover rate?
Staff feeling inadequately trainedk
Better pay and working conditions externally
Poor job satisfaction
A highly contented work force
2) Which term describes the process of scrutinising the various roles and responsibilities of a job
prior to recruitment?
Job analysis
Market analysis
Job description
Performance appraisal
3) Which document details the ideal profile of a desirable candidate, including the required or
preferred qualifications, skills and experiences?
Job advertisement
Job description
Job analysis
Person specification
4) Which term describes training carried out off-site?
Off-the-job training
Behavioural training
On-the-job training
Cognitive training
5) Which of the following is not a feature of a good system of employee appraisal at a business?
In case of a less than satisfactory performance, it should always result in a warning letter to the
employee or a dismissal
If performance is less than satisfactory, it should be followed by counselling and training
Appraisals should ideally be against a pre agreed criteria for an employee
It should result in new SMART targets for the employee for the forthcoming year
6) Which one of the following is not a valid reason for fair dismissal?
Employee’s race or religion
Employee misconduct
Gross misconduct
Employee incompetence
7) Which of the following statements about redundancies, retrenchment or layoffs is least likely to be
correct?
Compulsory or involuntary redundancies generally follow either the LIFO (last in, first out) rule
or retention by merit rule
Redundant staff cannot be redeployed to other areas of the business
Voluntary redundancies might result in employees getting a financial redundancy package
Redundancies may be voluntary or compulsory
8) Which of the following is not a reason for redundancies in the workplace?
Changes in external environment leading to a need for restructuring
Unacceptable behaviour or conduct by an employee
A decrease in the demand for the firm’s products by merit rule
Outsourcing and offshoring of certain jobs
9) Working away from the office using electronic forms of communication technologies such as
smartphones and Wi-Fi broadband is referred to as what?
Job sharing
Portfolio working
Homeworking
Teleworking
10) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Bias, behaviou, rquestionnaire, sassessment, 360-degree, Self-appraisal, dismissal,
description, performance, productivity, customers, training, Formative
Appraisals are formal of an employee’s performance with reference to his/her
roles and responsibilities set out in the job . It is part of the
management process of any employee, but are not directly related to workforce
planning with the objective of enabling an organization to identify the needs of
employees. appraisal helps to identify an employee’s strengths and
weaknesses in order to help employees improve their performance and .
appraisal is usually obtained using , surveys or
interviews to provide feedback from people in direct contact with the employee, e.g. peers, line
managers, subordinates and . is
generally compared with that of the line manager’s appraisal of the employee to rule out any
potential on the latter’s part. Appraisals need not always result in such harsh
and de-motivating measures as warning letters or ; the objective
being more to reflect, evaluate and plan for future improvements in performance and/or
.
11) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Severance, Voluntary, project, Compulsory, last, conflict, redundancy, retention, first,
redeployment, morale, retrenchment, involuntary
Redundancies, known as or layoffs, occur when the firm no
longer requires workers (perhaps due to the end of a contract or ) or
because they can no longer afford to hire so many workers. Redundancies may be voluntary or
involuntary. redundancies often result in employees getting a
financial package ( pay) offered
by the employer. Such redundancies are the least likely to lead to . By
contrast, redundancies are often de-motivational and can lead to low
staff due to the job losses. Choosing which employees to make
redundant is often very difficult. or involuntary redundancies generally
follow either the LIFO ( in, out) rule
or by merit rule. Using staff who are made redundant in one
department to fill up vacancies arising in other departments is referred to as .
12) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- Method of training that focuses on improving an employee’s thinking
skills in order to improve their performance and effectiveness in the workplace.
13) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The study of population trends.
14) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The employer’s decision to terminate a worker’s employment contract,
usually due to the worker’s incompetence and/or a breach of their employment contract.
15) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The amount of people who leave an organization, expressed as a
percentage of the workforce, per time period (usually one year).
16) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue
a different career.
17) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- Occurs when an organization no longer has a job for the employer or
when the employer can no longer afford to hire the employee, i.e. the job ceases to exist.
18) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The opposite of offshoring, as it is the process of bringing back
business operations, such as manufacturing, that were previously offshored.
19) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
appraisals - Type of appraisal conducted periodically or at the end of a
task or project, so includes an element of making a judgment about whether the appraisee has
passed the agreed standards.
21) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- This is the provision of work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job.
2.1 (c )
1) Which of the following is least likely to be a factor driving the workforce planning
requirements of a business?
Increased number of women in workforce
Slowing birth and death rates and increased life expectancy leading to an ageing population
Employee loyalty reward schemes
Increased mobility of labour
2) Which document contains the job title and details of the roles, duties and responsibilities of
the job?
Job description
Job analysis
Job advertisement
Person specification
3) A selection test designed to reveal the personality of the candidate as well as their level of
motivation for the job are part of which type of testing?
Intelligence tests
Psychometric tests
Aptitude tests
Professional qualifications
4) Which term describes training carried out off-site?
Cognitive training
Behavioural training
On-the-job training
Off-the-job training
5) Which of the following is not a direct reason for conducting appraisals?
To help assess an employee’s performance against agreed targets
To help to identify training needs
To help management reward high achieving employees through promotions and bonuses
To help improve workforce planning
6) Which type of appraisal involves collecting feedback about an employee’s job performance
from peers, line managers, subordinates and other people in contact with the employee?
Formative appraisal
Self-appraisal
360-degree appraisal
Summative appraisal
7) Which of the following is not a feature of a good system of employee appraisal at a
business?
If performance is less than satisfactory, it should be followed by counselling and training
It should result in new SMART targets for the employee for the forthcoming year
In case of a less than satisfactory performance, it should always result in a warning letter to the
employee or a dismissal
Appraisals should ideally be against a pre agreed criteria for an employee
8) Which term describes when a business can no longer afford to employ a worker, or when a
job ceases to exist, on account of seasonal or technological factors?
Redeployment
Reinstatement
Dismissal
Redundancy
9) What is the term used to describe the practice of transferring internal business activities to
an external firm in order to reduce costs?
Outsourcing
Offshoring
Re-shoring
Exporting
10) Which term describes the relocation of business operations back to their country of origin,
after having originally moved overseas on account of cost reasons?
Outsourcing
Re-shoring
Offshoring
Relocating
11) Which of the following is not a reason for the recent trend to re-shore business activities?
Increased wage costs in countries like China
Improved training and cultural awareness, leading to offshored entities offering the same level
of service as in the host countries
Incentives offered by domestic governments for relocation of production processes back to
home countries
Unethical labour practices in many off-shored destinations, such as the hiring of children
12) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Analysis, person specification, skills, advertisements, recruitment, job description, attributes
Job is conducted prior to as it helps to
identify what the job vacancy actually entails. It is followed by the drafting of two important
documents – the job description and person specification. The is a
document that provides the details of a particular job, including the job title, roles, duties and
responsibilities. It is often flexible so as to make the most of the skills of employees. A
includes the desirable of the new recruit, such as their
qualifications, and experiences, or the ability to work well in
teams. Job are typically released after a job analysis has
been completed.
13) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Flexibility, Occupational, relocation, experiences, Geographical, inability, immobility
Labour refers to the reluctance or of workers to move
between jobs or move to another location for work. immobility is the
unwillingness of workers to move from one location to another for better job opportunities on account
of factors like costs or high costs of living in the new area (such as the
cost of rent). mobility refers to the ease and of
workers to move from one job to another. This is due to the lack of suitable skills, qualifications
and/or .
14) Drag the text boxes to fill in the missing parts in the following text:
Behaviour, customers, assessment, 360-degree, description, questionnaires, Formative,
productivity, training, bias, dismissal, Self-appraisal, performance
Appraisals are formal of an employee’s performance with reference to
his/her roles and responsibilities set out in the job . It is part of the
management process of any employee, but are not directly related to
workforce planning with the objective of enabling an organization to identify the
needs of employees. appraisal helps to identify an employee’s strengths
and weaknesses in order to help employees improve their performance and
. appraisal is usually obtained using ,
surveys or interviews to provide feedback from people in direct contact with the employee, e.g.
peers, line managers, subordinates and . is
generally compared with that of the line manager’s appraisal of the employee to rule out any
potential on the latter’s part. Appraisals need not always result in such harsh
and de-motivating measures as warning letters or ; the objective
being more to reflect, evaluate and plan for future improvements in performance and/or
.
15) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- The ability and willingness of employees to relocate to another location
or country for work reasons.
16) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- Type of training intended for new employees in order to help them
acclimatise with the people, policies and processes of the organization.
17) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
training - Type of training led by external specialists and takes place
away from the place of work.
18) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- A major and vital aspect of human resource management, this refers to the
procedures involved in the hiring of the right employees, with the right aptitudes and attitudes.
19) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
appraisals - Type of appraisal conducted periodically or at the end of a
task or project, so includes an element of making a judgment about whether the appraisee has
passed the agreed standards.
20) Fill in the missing parts in the following text:
- Flexible working practice that involves employees being away from the
office as they rely on the use of telecommunications technologies, e.g. internet and mobile
technologies.
