SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

SHRM SHRM-SCP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 511:

  An organization will improve its ability to focus on critical business results by:

  A. Outsourcing non- core functions
  B. Implementing a flat structure
  C. Improving the organization's Employer Value Proposition
  D. Focus strategic implementation on staff functions
  A. Outsourcing non- core functions

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  An organization will increase its ability to focus on critical business outcomes by outsourcing non- core functions. NOTE: A line function is one that directly advances an organization in its core work. This always includes production and sales, and sometimes also marketing.A staff function supports the organization with specialized advisory and support functions. For example, human resources, accounting, public relations and the legal department are generally considered to be staff functions.

• Question 512:

  Which is an advantage of the decentralized HR model?

  A. Efficiency
  B. Accessibility
  C. Autonomy
  D. Consistency
  C. Autonomy

• Question 513:

  When evaluating potential employee systems using the CARVER system, what six criteria should be used during the risk assessment?

  A. Criticality, accessibility, recuperability. vulnerability, effect and recoverability
  B. Credibility, accountability recognizability, vacancy edge and reliability
  C. Compatibility acceptability reliability variability, exposure, and relativity
  D. Changeability, alterability, results, viability, expertise, and redundancy
  A. Criticality, accessibility, recuperability. vulnerability, effect and recoverability

• Question 514:

  A HR manager of Terrain Inc., a personal goods retail company has to go on FMLA leave to care for her mother who suffered a fall. The HR manager asks a HR professional in the department to collaborate on her behalf with a consultancy firm to provide recommendations to management on employee engagement. The consultancy firm has conducted a focus group with 15% of support employees and 5% of line employees. The HR professional upon reviewing the firm's work believes the firm's method is insufficient to gather the full information needed to create an effective solution. The HR professional determines that a different data collection method is necessary.

  The HR professional chooses to carry out a survey of all employees, proceeds to obtain the support of the CEO, CFO, and COO and makes a presentation to the senior executive team . The senior executive team approves the HR professional's initiative, the survey is carried out, and 85% of the employees respond to the survey. Impressed with the survey exercise, the CEO shares the survey results with the consultancy firm and requests that the firm works closely with the HR professional in the implementation phase.

  Some executives are reluctant to have another survey this year. The executives state that last year's survey is sufficient to understand employee engagement levels for this year. How should the HR manager convince senior leadership of the value of measuring employee engagement through an annual survey?

  A. By explaining how other methods of determining employee engagement are unproductive
  B. By convincing leadership that the survey outcomes will create viable solutions to organizational problems
  C. By providing benchmark data that detail the annual survey results of comparable companies
  D. By demonstrating how the survey can reveal unreported problems
  D. By demonstrating how the survey can reveal unreported problems

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  Employee engagement surveys that are done on an annual basis can help reveal unreported problems that employees face and provide an opportunity to take proactive action in resolving the identified issues. Employee engagement survey outcomes will not solve organizational problems. Benchmark data of survey results do not provide the specific value of annual engagement surveys.

• Question 515:

  Which principle of employment at-will affects employers in countries that recognize this employment right?

  A. The employee is not legally bound to any financial liability incurred for abandoning the job
  B. The employer is able to recover damages or costs incurred by the departure of an employee.
  C. Severance payments must be agreed upon in writing when the employee is first hired.
  D. Employers are not required to identify a legitimate business decision for taking adverse action.
  A. The employee is not legally bound to any financial liability incurred for abandoning the job

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  When the principle of employment at-will applies, primarily in the U.S., both the employee and the employer are free to terminate the relationship with no consequences, assuming that no other contracts or agreements have been made and the termination was legal (in other words, not a case of wrongful discharge).

• Question 516:

  ___________ reflect(s) the collective learning in organizations such as how to coordinate production skills, integrate multiple streams of technologies, and market and merchandise diverse products and services.

  A. Core competencies
  B. Horizontal integration
  C. Culture of knowledge, skills, abilities
  D. Primary value chain activities
  A. Core competencies

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  Core competencies reflect(s) the collective learning in organizations such as how to coordinate production skills, integrate multiple streams of technologies, and market and merchandise diverse products and services.

• Question 517:

  Environmental scanning is most effective when:

  A. It emphasizes forecasting and anticipates the future rather than describing current conditions
  B. It engages purely in data collection and statistics of demographic, economic and political indicators that affect operations
  C. It is a one-time activity carried out at the initial stage of strategic planning to gather information on internal, external trends and events that impact an organization's competitiveness
  D. It obtains and analyzes the interaction of events, trends and costs that impact human capital and deployment
  A. It emphasizes forecasting and anticipates the future rather than describing current conditions

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  One of the key elements of the strategic planning process in an organization is environmental scanning (ES). ES is most effective when participants focus on forecasting the future, and identifying signals that impact an organization's strategy through data collection and analysis from various sources; internal and external. ES is not purely data collection, neither does it focus on operations. ES is also not a one- time activity but an ongoing process. ES does not focus on human capital alone but is a strategic activity that obtains information in all areas that can impact an organization's strategy.

• Question 518:

  This type of hybrid organizational structure combines departmentalization by division and function to gain the benefits of both with a dual chain of command:

  A. Matrix
  B. Centralized
  C. Network
  D. Modular
  A. Matrix

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  The matrix structure is a type of hybrid organizational structure that combines departmentalization by division and function to gain the benefits of both. It features a dual chain of command where employees report to two supervisors rather than to the traditional single supervisor.

• Question 519:

  The Three-Tree landscaping firm is aiming to hire a handful of qualified staff and has posted openings that offer pay ranges that exceed the industry average. This is in a bid to develop an operative workforce as quick as possible. The Three- Tree firm is most likely in what phase of its organizational life-cycle?

  A. Introduction
  B. Growth
  C. Maturity
  D. Decline
  A. Introduction

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  The Three-Tree firm is most likely in the introduction phase and is willing to pay more to recruit a talented and already trained workforce; the founder could also decide to outsource specialized tasks. An organization that is in a growth stage will have an improved financial standing, increased division of labor, will add new positions but may not exceed the industry pay range. An organization at maturity will feature consistent business results and financial predictability, the Board is more policy and strategy focused, there is an established culture, and there is an emphasis on efficiency and systems. An organization in decline finds it difficult to respond to change, experiences high turnover, and seeks to shrink the workforce through attrition and layoffs.

• Question 520:

  Gwen is an expatriate who was transferred 3 months ago to another country for a short-term assignment. She assumes that her contemporaries in the new location will value punctuality just as the associates in her native country do. Based on this, she assumes the delay in response to her e-mails and enquiries reflect incompetence and unprofessional conduct. She becomes frustrated with her colleagues, inhibiting collaboration and the development of relationships among her new team. This example indicates a lack of understanding and exploration of what type of culture?

  A. Organizational culture
  B. National culture
  C. Subculture
  D. Home culture
  B. National culture

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  Expatriates should understand the national cultural values in the countries in which their assignments are - to ensure that their work practices are appropriate and will be effective in operations in those countries. An organization's culture defines the proper way to behave within the organization. Subcultures exist among groups or individuals who may have their own rituals and traditions that may not be shared by the rest of the organization.