SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 251:

  Which of the following is inaccurate regarding leading and lagging indicators in business?

  A. leading indicators are linked to objectives while lagging indicators are linked to return on investment
  B. leading indicators are retrospective while lagging indicators are predictive
  C. leading indicators are challenging to measure while lagging indicators are easily measured
  D. leading indicators utilize safety control systems while lagging indicators utilize safety incident rates
  B. leading indicators are retrospective while lagging indicators are predictive

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  A leading indicator is predictive, focused on objectives, can influence change, and is hard to measure - for example; the percentage of people wearing hard hats on a construction site is a leading safety indicator.A lagging indicator is output- oriented, retrospective easy to measure, outcome-based, and can only record what has happened - for example; the number of accidents on a construction site is a lagging safety indicator.

• Question 252:

  What is Strategic Drift?

  A. accelerating rate of change in the external environment
  B. gradual plateau of functional tactics and action plans
  C. gradual decline of competitive ability
  D. situations for which organizations expect to attain dual strategic outcomes
  C. gradual decline of competitive ability

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  Strategic drift occurs when the strategy pursued by a business no longer fits with the environment around it. What may have been appropriate at one point is no longer suitable as conditions have changed.Strategic Drift is a gradual decline of competitive ability that results in the failure of an organization to recognize and respond to changes in the business environment.

• Question 253:

  An employee relations manager works in a 400-person call center that is part of a larger 7,000-person organization. The center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The HR manager received an email from one of the call center employees, who indicated that he feels harassed and needs to speak with someone immediately. The HR manager makes plans to meet with the employee before his evening shift.

  The employee says that his supervisor treats him differently and is spying on him at work. He accuses her of logging onto his computer, making program changes, and sending inappropriate messages to other employees. When the HR manager asks for proof, the employee says that the manager has deleted all evidence of her activities. In addition, he believes that at least six other employees, including the marketing manager, are trying to discredit him. The employee further accuses his supervisor of

  making sexual advances toward him.

  The HR manager says that she will investigate the charges. Her first step is to speak with the supervisor. The supervisor reports that there have been problems with the employee for some time, as the HR manager can attest to from looking at his file. There have been several warnings, but his behavior is becoming more erratic, and other team members do not feel comfortable working with him. The supervisor wants to proceed with termination of the employee. She is concerned that if nothing happens, she

  will start to see high-performing employees leave the organization.

  The HR manager then mentions the accusations of sexual harassment. The supervisor is angry at being accused of harassment, threatens to obtain legal counsel if this investigation proceeds, and yells, "This employee has lost his mind!" as she storms out of the HR manager's office.

  The employee leaves work at the end of his shift, gets into a car accident, and sustains minor injuries. He alerts the HR manager that he will be away from work for two weeks and, as proof, forwards a physician's note. The note accidentally includes a reference to possible mental illness. The employee also states in his email that he believes the supervisor caused the accident.

  Three employees have said that if they are "forced" to work with the employee who made the accusations, they will quit. How should the HR manager respond?

  A. Ask specific questions of these three employees to determine investigating their concerns are warranted
  B. Agree with the employees and advise them that this employee will soon be terminated
  C. Tell the employees about the issues going on with this employee and suggest the concerns are due to his medical condition
  D. Acknowledge the concerns of the employees and start an investigation based on the information the HR manager has on hand.
  A. Ask specific questions of these three employees to determine investigating their concerns are warranted

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  The most appropriate response of the HR manager is to ask specific questions of the three employees to determine if investigating their concerns is warranted.

• Question 254:

  When Yasmin applied for the job of sales representative for a building manufacturer, he participated in all the testing the organization used in its selection process. He was not hired because his score on the personality test indicated his people skills were lower than the levels of proficiency required. Even though Yasmin ranked above the fixed level of proficiency on his other tests, he was not hired because the building manufacturer uses a(n)___________ approach to synthesizing applicant test results and choosing its new employees.

  A. Combined
  B. Structured
  C. Compensatory
  D. Multiple-hurdle
  D. Multiple-hurdle

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  In a multiple hurdle approach, the applicant must pass a step in the selection process to progress to the next step. Failure at any step disqualifies the applicant from further consideration. In the multiple cutoff approach, an applicant for a job must meet a minimum score on each of several selection instruments in order to be hired. Unlike the multiple hurdle model of selection, the multiple cutoff procedure does not require applicants to take and pass the selection instruments in any particular order. In the compensatory model, the test is administered to applicants, no cutoffs are used, and applicants can compensate for poor performance on some tests by doing exceptionally well on other tests.

• Question 255:

  Based on the organization's new strategic plan, the HR business plan calls for implementing a new team-building course. The HR function, however, is unable to use internal instructional designers due to prior project commitments. What should the HR manager do?

  A. Add permanent HR staff
  B. Revise the business plan.
  C. Rearrange project commitments.
  D. Outsource the project
  D. Outsource the project

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  Outsourcing the project would be appropriate in this case, because it will not decrease the function's expertise, nor will it involve outsourcing a key strategic task. The business plan should support the organization's strategy, and rearranging or delaying other commitments is not necessary since outsourcing is a legitimate option. Adding permanent staff for a temporary situation is not appropriate.

• Question 256:

  A small family-owned manufacturer of luxury female garments was bought by a global organization when the founder of the company decided to retire. With the change in management came many changes in policies, procedures and culture. The company used to have a laissez-faire and informal organization, where employees related personally with the founder. Now, a hierarchical system is in place, rules and disciplinary policies have been instituted at all levels, and production requirements are high and rigorous. Employees are grumbling that managers are tyrants. What has changed about this organization that will make it prone to unionization?

  A. the levels of expectancy and valence
  B. the situational instrumentality
  C. the essentiality of the jobs
  D. the psychological contract
  D. the psychological contract

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  A psychological contract represents the mutual beliefs, perceptions and informal obligations between an employer and an employee. It sets the dynamics for the relationship and defines the detailed practicality of the work to be done. It is distinguishable from the formal written contract of employment which identifies duties and responsibilities in a generalized form. Unlike a formal, codified employee contract, a psychological contract is an unwritten set of expectations between the employee and the employer. It includes informal arrangements, mutual beliefs, common ground and perceptions between the two parties. Option A and B refer to Vroom's Expectancy theory of motivation. Vroom suggests that an employee's motivation level is determined by his/her Expectancy (the belief that if I make the effort, I'll be able to perform the work well), his/her Instrumentality (the belief that when I perform the job well, I'll receive a positive outcome, i.e., a reward), and his/her reward Valence (the value he/she puts on the reward he/she receives).

• Question 257:

  Which demand forecasting methodology best supports a workforce management strategy regardless of industry?

  A. Managerial judgment
  B. Ratio-trend
  C. Technological forecast
  D. Work study
  B. Ratio-trend

• Question 258:

  At the beginning of union negotiations, when parties do not have an established relationship, the first step is likely to be:

  A. Determine the ground rules for the negotiations
  B. Present a business case for the negotiations
  C. Exchange ratification agreement proposals
  D. Select the communication strategy for each side.
  A. Determine the ground rules for the negotiations

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  At the beginning of union negotiations, when parties do not have established relationships, the first step is to determine the ground rules for the negotiations. A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task when a function is seeking funding for a project, it most likely would present this reasoning as a business case. A business case provides stakeholders with a management tool for evidence-based and transparent decision making. It clearly presents the risks, opportunities and threats involved putting them in perspective of the investment involved therein. A business case is developed during the early stages of a project and outlines the why, what, how, and who necessary to decide if it is worthwhile continuing a project.

• Question 259:

  A department has consistently missed its quality goals for the past year and asks HR to analyze and correct the situation. HR redesigns work processes to parallel processes used in more successful departments. After a year, quality metrics have still not improved. What is the most likely reason?

  A. Employees are resisting changes in the processes
  B. The metrics themselves are faulty
  C. Employees are not sufficiently motivated
  D. The real cause of the quality issue was not identified
  D. The real cause of the quality issue was not identified

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  It is most likely that a needs analysis was not done to determine the causative factors behind the quality issue. Therefore, modeling processes used in successful departments may not solve the peculiarities behind the quality issues of the department in question.

• Question 260:

  Which organizational structure requires employees to report to two managers who might have differing priorities, assignments, and performance standards?

  A. Matrix
  B. Divisional
  C. Team
  D. Functional
  A. Matrix

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  A matrix structure assigns employees to both functional and project managers, creating dual reporting lines that can lead to differing priorities and performance standards.