SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 411:

  A grant-funded organization, which provides education and training on health care safety and quality initiatives, has a national reputation for effectiveness and has helped create subsidiaries in other jurisdictions. The organization's senior VP of operations reports to the CEO for programmatic matters and to the director of corporate field engagement for internal staff management and coordination of education and training programs. The director was promoted from the senior VP's position six months prior after spending 10 years in the senior VP role. Although the organization has continued to grow programmatically and in grant funding under the new senior VP's leadership, employee morale has decreased while turnover and time-to-hire have increased. The director emails the organization's HR manager claiming that the senior VP has begun avoiding meetings with the director and only provides notification of changes and developments after decisions have been made. The email also states the director recognizes the senior VP is a highly qualified technical expert but believes employees are not receiving the management support they need to be effective.

  Although the organization has continued to grow, results from the annual engagement survey indicate that miscommunication among leadership is adversely affecting employees' job satisfaction and performance. Which action should the HR manager take?

  A. Interview members of leadership to ascertain how they communicate with their employees.
  B. Review best practices of other organizations on how communication issues are handled.
  C. Survey employees to see how they would like leadership to address the communication skills gap.
  D. Discuss training opportunities with the HR team for leadership to develop management skills.
  A. Interview members of leadership to ascertain how they communicate with their employees.

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  Interviewing leadership provides direct insight into current communication practices and challenges, enabling HR to diagnose gaps accurately before recommending targeted interventions.

• Question 412:

  An accident occurred in a mine where 60% of the miners were exposed to a hazardous material that could not be absorbed safely. What is the direct cause and indirect cause of the accident?

  A. Unsafe actions; hazardous material
  B. Hazardous material; unsafe mine conditions
  C. Lack of training; unsafe mine conditions
  D. Unsafe mine conditions; poor management policies
  B. Hazardous material; unsafe mine conditions

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  The hazardous material is the DIRECT CAUSE of the accident. The direct cause is usually the result of one or more unsafe acts or unsafe conditions, or both. Unsafe acts and conditions are the INDIRECT CAUSES or symptoms. Indirect causes are usually traceable to BASIC CAUSES such as poor management policies and decisions.

• Question 413:

  Which process should the HR manager use to identify employees' developmental needs and readiness for future roles?

  A. Talent reviews
  B. Succession planning
  C. Workforce planning
  D. Performance reviews
  A. Talent reviews

• Question 414:

  In the Angst corporation, an employee with specialized skills and expertise in corporate technological processes was recently poached by a major competitor. HR has had a difficult time filling his role. Which of the following would have been a best practice to avoid the dilemma the Angst corporation is in?

  A. Knowledge management
  B. Implement the five disciplines of learning organizations
  C. Non-compete agreement
  D. Total Quality Management
  A. Knowledge management

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  Knowledge management is any system that prevents loss of pertinent business knowledge, and helps people in an organization share, access, and update business knowledge and information. Examples include cross-training programs, document management systems (such as Google drive), and content management systems.

• Question 415:

  High product differentiation is generally accompanied by?

  A. higher profit margins and lower costs.
  B. decreased emphasis on competition based on price.
  C. higher market share.
  D. significant economies of scale.
  B. decreased emphasis on competition based on price.

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  There is a decreased emphasis on competition based on price as the differentiation strategy focuses on unique and premium qualities not cost considerations.

• Question 416:

  Which is a common type of bonus included in executive compensation?

  A. Holiday bonus
  B. Employee referral bonus
  C. Spot bonus
  D. Predetermined allocation bonus
  D. Predetermined allocation bonus

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  Executives commonly receive predetermined allocation bonuses - planned, formula-driven payments tied to predefined performance metrics - rather than ad hoc spot or holiday bonuses.

• Question 417:

  Which HR professional is fulfilling the correct role of HR in managing organizational risk?

  A. HR analyzes and audits its function for incomplete background or reference checks for new hires and its level of compliance with accommodations required by law.
  B. HR collaborates with line managers of core functions to build a broad and integrated talent management plan inclusive of succession planning, workforce planning and performance management
  C. HR collates data on employee injuries due to lack of training or education and conducts regular health and safety training drills in the production and operations department
  D. HR executes the workers' compensation claims process of documentation, reporting, accuracy and investigations.
  B. HR collaborates with line managers of core functions to build a broad and integrated talent management plan inclusive of succession planning, workforce planning and performance management

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  Note the term, "Organizational risk" which is a potential for uncertainty that occurs and impacts the top level of the organization and affects the entire organization not just a function. Note that option A refers to the HR function, option C and D refer to operational risks in terms of safety and reports. Only option B involves HR working across functions to build a talent management plan which impacts the entire organization.

• Question 418:

  Which is the main difference between onshoring and nearshoring?

  A. Onshoring reduces the personnel costs of a company, while nearshoring reduces production and other fixed costs.
  B. Onshoring is the relocation of processes to a lower-cost location inside the country, while nearshoring is the outsourcing of processes to companies in a nearby country.
  C. Onshoring attracts highly qualified employees, while nearshoring helps gain access to workers with language skills that are not readily available.
  D. Onshoring provides the benefits of working in different time zones, while nearshoring may not offer that benefit.
  B. Onshoring is the relocation of processes to a lower-cost location inside the country, while nearshoring is the outsourcing of processes to companies in a nearby country.

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  Onshoring relocates processes to domestic, lower-cost sites within the same country, whereas nearshoring outsources to providers in a neighboring or nearby country.

• Question 419:

  Which of the following is not a feature of a flat organization?

  A. Lateral promotion
  B. Broadbanding
  C. High Involvement Organization
  D. Bureaucratic structure
  D. Bureaucratic structure

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  A flat or horizontal organization has few or no levels of management between staff and managers. Well- trained workers are involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by layers of management. There is a high level of employee involvement, and decentralized decision-making. On the other hand, a bureaucracy typically refers to an organization that is complex with multilayered systems and processes. These systems and procedures are designed to maintain uniformity and controls within an organization. Bureaucratic structures are defined by complexity, division of labor, permanence, professional management, hierarchical coordination and control, strict chain of command, and legal authority.

• Question 420:

  A rapidly growing technology start-up company with 200 employees forms a new team to handle recruitment for the company that is independent of the HR team. The recruitment team does not have any specific guidelines for hiring. The HR director wants to establish guidelines to prevent the theft of intellectual property and insists that the recruitment team begin conducting background checks to verify applicants' criminal histones. The recruitment director feels that background checks create unnecessary delays and that the multiple interviews used to make selection decisions serve the same purpose as a background check.

  Considering the company's rapid growth and desire to avoid any intellectual property theft, what would have been an effective way to structure the recruiting function to avoid the present difficulties?

  A. Allow the recruiting team to function autonomously, but require weekly meetings with HR.
  B. Expand the HR function to include the recruiting function as well as the other HR functions.
  C. Keep recruiting and HR separate, but hire a recruitment director with experience as an HR director.
  D. Outsource the entire recruiting function to a company with expertise in such work.
  B. Expand the HR function to include the recruiting function as well as the other HR functions.