SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 181:

  The strategy of the Terse firm in its home country is an innovative culture that creates cutting-edge products. The Terse firm has decided to operate in international markets (host countries) in much the same way as it does in the home country, it is described as being:

  A. geocentric
  B. ethnocentric
  C. regiocentric
  D. polycentric
  B. ethnocentric

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  The transfer of home country values and practices to overseas operations is termed ethnocentric. Ethnocentric companies tend to believe that their group, organization, culture, or ethnicity (home country or headquarters) is superior to others. Ethnocentrism can exist in international business, for instance, where home country staff consider themselves superior to foreign staff in other countries.

• Question 182:

  If the Softkey company produces an integrated accounting software and wants to compete internationally, which strategy would the company most likely employ?

  A. multidomestic
  B. transnational
  C. global
  D. international
  C. global

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  A global strategy would work best since the same software will be offered across the countries and most likely will require only very minor deviations from one country to another.Global companies prioritize High Integration and Low Responsiveness. Global companies are the opposite of multidomestic companies. They offer a standardized product worldwide and have the goal to maximize efficiencies in order to reduce costs as much as possible. Global companies are highly centralized and subsidiaries are often very dependent on the Headquarters. Think of a company producing calculators (Texas Instruments), software (Intel) or pharmaceuticals (Pfizer).

• Question 183:

  Abigail is always early to work because the company offers a perfect attendance bonus. This is an example of which of the following motivational theories?

  A. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
  B. Operant Conditioning
  C. Fredrick Herzberg's Motivation and Hygiene theory
  D. Adam's Equity theory
  B. Operant Conditioning

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  Operant conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning) is a learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. The scenario above is an example of positive reinforcement.

• Question 184:

  Queen works for a large fast-food restaurant chain. Her job is to visit different restaurants in the chain and rate their speed of service, quality of food, cleanliness of store and restrooms, and displayed promotional materials. From this brief description of Queen's job, it is obvious that the fast-food restaurant chain uses____________criteria in its performance measurements.

  A. trait-based
  B. input-based
  C. behavioral-based
  D. results-based
  D. results-based

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  Results-based criteria in its performance measurements. Result- based performance management is characterized by little monitoring and directing by management and evaluations being done with objective measures. There are three main methods of determining performance. The first is the trait method, in which managers look at an employee's specific traits in relation to the job, such as friendliness to the customer. The behavioral method looks at individual actions within a specific job. Comparative methods compare one employee with other employees. Results methods are focused on employee accomplishments, such as whether or not employees met a quota or an objective.

• Question 185:

  Which of the following leadership theories is based on dimensions of task structure, leader-member relations, position power, and the concept of least preferred coworker?

  A. Participative Theory
  B. Behavioral Theory
  C. Fielder's Contingency Theory
  D. Path-Goal Theory
  C. Fielder's Contingency Theory

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  Fiedler's contingency theory postulates that performance is a function of the leader's style and the favorableness of the situation in which the leader is interacting with the team. Since the leader's style is difficult to change, one should try to improve the situational favorableness in order to improve performance. Situational favorableness is based on three contextual variables: leader–member relations, task structure, and the leader's position of power.

  The contingency leadership theory, sometimes called situational theory, focuses on the context of a leader. These theories look at the situational effects on the success or failure of a leader. A leader's effectiveness is directly determined by the situational context. Types of contingency theories include Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Theory, the Evans and House Path–Goal Theory, and Fiedler's Contingency Theory.

  There are two important factors in Fiedler's Contingency Theory: leadership style and situational favorableness.

  Leadership Style

  The first step in using the model is to determine your natural leadership style. To do this, Fiedler developed a scale called the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC).

  According to the model, the more favorably you rated the person you least prefer to work with, the more relationship-oriented you are. The less favorably you rated the person you least like working with, the more task-oriented you are.

  So, in a nutshell:

  High LPC = Relationship-oriented leader. Low LPC = Task-oriented leader.

  Task-oriented leaders tend to be good at organizing teams and projects and getting things done. Relationship-oriented leaders tend to be good at building strong relationships and managing conflict to get things done.

  Situational Favorableness

  The next step is to understand the favorableness of the situation you face. This is determined by how much control over the situation you have as a leader (situational control).

  Determining situational favorableness is done by examining the following three factors:

  a.

  Leader–Member Relations

  This factor measures how much your team trusts you. Greater trust increases the favorableness of the situation, and less trust reduces it.

  b.

  Task Structure

  This factor measures the tasks that need to be performed. Are they clear and precise or vague?

  Vague tasks decrease the favorableness of the situation, and concrete and clear tasks increase it.

  c.

  Position Power

  This is determined by your authority—meaning the power you have to reward or punish your subordinates. As you might expect, having more power increases situational favorableness.

• Question 186:

  A HR data initiative that utilizes employee age, gender, educational level, marital status, occupation and annual income is emphasizing ____________ factors.

  A. human capital
  B. protected class
  C. demographic
  D. economic
  C. demographic

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  Demographic data refers to socio-economic information of a population expressed statistically, including age, gender, employment, education, income, marriage rates, birth and death rates etc. Governments, corporations, and nongovernment organizations use demographics to learn more about a population's characteristics, including policy development and economic market research.

• Question 187:

  Jolomi feels she did not receive an appropriate salary increase after working for the Tence company for 6 years. She does not believe that the company's methods for determining salary increases is fair. She believes there is a problem with the firm's __________?

  A. interpersonal justice
  B. distributive justice
  C. procedural justice
  D. equity practices
  C. procedural justice

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  Procedural justice focuses on the fairness of the decision-making or process that leads to these outcomes. Employees perceive procedural justice when they feel they can voice their opinion regarding the process. Employees also believe procedures are fair when they are consistent, accurate, ethical, and lack bias.Distributive justice occurs when employees believe that outcomes are equitable. These outcomes are either tangible, such as pay, or intangible, such as positive feedback. When employees believe that they are being paid or treated equally, then this results in distributive justice.

• Question 188:

  A start-up technology company is growing rapidly, and senior leadership would like the company to be publicly traded in the near future. The company regularly exceeds its financial goals, but outside analysts express concerns about the inconsistent practices and procedures within the company. The company values innovation, and very little attention is paid to documenting or standardizing work processes. This provides employees with a great deal of freedom to experiment in their roles, but it also leads to confusion about individual assignments and areas of responsibility. In preparation for a public offering, the company's leadership asks the HR director to gather information on best work practices in every functional area and create the required documentation.

  The HR director does not have the technology knowledge necessary to understand many of the best work practices recommendations provided by employees. What should the HR director do to ensure all information included in the best work practices documentation is accurate?

  A. Create teams of employees in each department that can create, edit, and approve all best work practices documentation relevant to the department.
  B. Ask the employees' managers to proofread all best work practices documentation to ensure they reflect accurate information.
  C. Contact administrative assistants in each department to answer technical questions.
  D. Conduct online research to verify that the company's best work practices meet industry standards.
  A. Create teams of employees in each department that can create, edit, and approve all best work practices documentation relevant to the department.

• Question 189:

  Which of the following is an appropriate employment contract provision for the Director of Marketing at a consumer goods retail company?

  A. Prohibiting the employee from working for a competitor for five years
  B. Binding the employee to stay for the contract term even if the business is sold
  C. Forfeiting statutory rights during the probationary period of the contract
  D. Denying certain benefits if the employee is terminated for cause
  D. Denying certain benefits if the employee is terminated for cause

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  Employment contracts change the "at will" relationship, restricting an employer's ability to terminate employees for any reason or no reason at all. Typically, an employment contact will include terms that stipulate only to terminate "for cause" such as committing a felony or acting in a way that is clearly harmful. Denying certain benefits if there is termination for cause would be a plausible contract term.

• Question 190:

  A team manager at a large consulting firm expresses concerns to the team director and HR manager that turnover among junior-level staff is high. The loss of junior-level staff is impacting the ability of senior staff to efficiently and effectively meet client needs. As a result, senior staff are hesitant to take on new projects, impacting the firm's overall revenue. The team director asks the senior staff their opinions as to why turnover among junior-level staff is so high. Senior staff agree the primary reason is that junior-level staff are underpaid. To mitigate this issue, the team director suggests to the HR manager that junior-level staff be paid retention bonuses after their first, second, and third years of employment. The team director asks the HR manager's opinion as to whether this is likely to be an effective solution and how a new bonus system would influence overall organizational functioning.

  A review of engagement surveys indicates junior-level staff report low levels of satisfaction with work/life balance. How should the HR manager use this data?

  A. Implement workshops focused on work/life balance to see if levels of satisfaction increase.
  B. Share the engagement survey data with the team director and brainstorm possible action plans.
  C. Communicate the engagement survey data to the entire firm via email and request suggestions.
  D. Conduct one-on-one meetings with junior-level staff to learn the causes of poor work/life balance.
  B. Share the engagement survey data with the team director and brainstorm possible action plans.