SPHR/PHR Study Guide Exam 43 Questions with Verified Answers
Replacement Cost - CORRECT ANSWER The amount it would cost to replace an asset at current
... [Show More] prices. It would include recruiting, hiring and training a totally new work force.
Outlay Cost - CORRECT ANSWER Also known as explicit costs. Any concrete costs that can be identified in the past, present or future
Turnover Efficiency - CORRECT ANSWER The measure of how well assets are being used to produce revenue.
Self Nomination - CORRECT ANSWER If a company wants to promote employees to higher level positions from within , the best method of recruitment is to all for job bidding or self nomination.
Performance Expectations - CORRECT ANSWER When an employee is not meeting performance expectations, the supervisor should review with the employee intermittently before the final timeline to work with him/her on meeting his/her objectives. The objectives should be specific, realistic and a timeline should be identified. Additionally, reviewing performance expectations intermittently will reduce discriminatory action.
Three Components of Retention Management - CORRECT ANSWER measurement and assessment, retention interventions and selection procedures and followup tactics. The biggest component to employee retention management is getting the right people in an organization. In addition, continual measurements and assessment are essential. Transparency and free flow of communication channels is also an essential step for maintaining strong employer-employee relationships.
Primary Objective of a contract negotiation - CORRECT ANSWER 1. To establish a good working relation with the seller
2. To obtain a reasonable and fair price for the contract.
Sunset Clause - CORRECT ANSWER Identifies a time period after the defined end of an incentive pay plan.
Golden Handcuffs - CORRECT ANSWER Represents employee incentives linked to an individual's continued employment with an organization so that key performers have strong incentives to stay with the organization due to significant losses if they were to leave.
Expert Power - CORRECT ANSWER When important employees demand an increase in pay because they know they are invaluable to the organization due to their level of expertise or skill set.
Recognition and Rewards - CORRECT ANSWER Recognition and rewards are used to promote team performance and reinforce desired behaviors. To be effective, recognition and rewards should be based on activities under a persons control and clear criteria for rewards should be established. Improves team cohesiveness.
Zero Sum Rewards - CORRECT ANSWER Undermines/ Limits team cohesiveness due to limited number of project team members being recognized for their work.
Line Managers - CORRECT ANSWER Line managers are primarily responsible for managing human resources/ employees. However, human resource professionals provide special expertise and tools that assist line managers in managing their direct report employees.
Test/Retests, Internal Consistency, Parallel Forms - CORRECT ANSWER All measure reliability. Reliability is the ability of an instrument to measure consistency with relative absence of error.
Unit Strategy - CORRECT ANSWER Business unit strategy is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It is concerned with making strategic decisions about choice of products, meeting needs of the customers, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities.
Corporate Strategy - CORRECT ANSWER Corporate strategy is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations. It is often explicitly stated in the corporate mission.
Functional Strategy - CORRECT ANSWER Functional strategy emphasizes short and medium term plans and is limited to the domain of each department's functional responsibility.
Corporate Vision - CORRECT ANSWER Represents the overall goal of an organization that all business activities and processes should contribute toward achieving. It is explicitly stated in the vision statement.
Structured Exercise - CORRECT ANSWER Enables the participants to practice the newly learned skills. A structured exercise would be most effective method of improving the effectiveness. For example the time it takes to ring up customers at a cash register.
Application Falsification and Ramifications - CORRECT ANSWER An employee who knowingly falsifies the reason for termination with another employer ( Misconduct being the reason for termination) should be fired immediately when the new employer finds out. Even if details are unknown prior to dismissal. If such an action has been done once, then it is likely that the employee can falsify the information again.
Gainsharing - CORRECT ANSWER Group incentive programs where gains realized from group endeavors are shared with the group.
Piece Rate Plan - CORRECT ANSWER Individual incentive plan where individuals are compensated for piecework.
Profit Sharing Plans - CORRECT ANSWER Organization wide incentive programs that allow employees the right to reap direct benefits from profitability of the organization.
Commissions - CORRECT ANSWER Individual incentive plans that base compensation on a percentage of sales.
Central Tendency and Job Performance - CORRECT ANSWER Central Tendency is the tendency to centralize performance appraisal scores around a small range, regardless of actual performance.
Skip Level Interviews - CORRECT ANSWER Allow time for directors to receive feedback from their employees directly, specifically those employees that are two levels below them.
Situational Theories - CORRECT ANSWER Believe that leadership styles should correspond to the maturity of the employees.
Behavioral Theories - CORRECT ANSWER Believe that leadership can be learned. Individuals can learn the necessary behaviors to be effective leaders.
Trait Theories - CORRECT ANSWER Trait Theories believe that leaders are born not made. According to this theory, some of the characteristics that are highly correlated with leadership are intelligence, self confidence, self initiation.
Contingency Theories - CORRECT ANSWER Contingency Theories believe that leadership is contingent upon certain factors. For example effective leadership is dependent upon the interaction between leadership style and situational favorableness.
Questionnaires - CORRECT ANSWER Questionnaires are the best job analysis method for quick response rate and gathering of large number of jobs. It is cost effective and timely.
Interviews - CORRECT ANSWER If a company is not concerned about cost and time, an interview will be another job analysis method that can be used.
Participative Management - CORRECT ANSWER IS an employee involvement strategy which requires organizational commitment at all levels of the organization, especially management for it to be effective.
Transactional Leadership Theory - CORRECT ANSWER Is a management approach that focuses on motivating employees by appealing to their own self interest through either the promise of reward or the threat of discipline for the accomplishments of tasks and good worker relationships.
Severance Pay - CORRECT ANSWER Severance pay is a kind of direct compensation that is both taxable and a direct form of compensation.
Appropriate Use of HR Audit - CORRECT ANSWER HR Audit can be used appropriately to determine whether the employee handbook is in compliance with current government regulations.
Effectiveness - CORRECT ANSWER Measures the extent to which objectives are identified.
Efficiency - CORRECT ANSWER Efficiency occurs when an individual is able to perform well or achieve results without wasted energy, resources, effect, time or money.
Management by Objectives - CORRECT ANSWER Management by Objectives is a performance appraisal format. It appraises the performance of an individual based on the individuals meeting goals/objectives established for them within a certain time frame.
Balance Scorecard - CORRECT ANSWER Provides a general framework for defining, implementing and sustaining business strategies at all levels and throughout the organization by linking that strategy to each individual employees performance measurement system.
Solomon Four Group Design - CORRECT ANSWER Is the best research design for evaluating a training program. It is used when it is suspected that, in taking a test more than once, earlier tests have an effect on later tests, for example by learning or priming effects. There, In addition to the basic pretest/post test design, there are three additional tests, one without the treatment, one with the pretest and one without both pretest and treatment.
Steps in the Change Management Process - CORRECT ANSWER Before an organization can establish a plan and time line, or communicate the overall change plan/ new objectives, or implement and evaluate the change, an organization must discuss alternative plans that will address its need for change and establish a final plan.
Aptitude Test - CORRECT ANSWER An aptitude test is a standardized test designed to measure the ability of a person to develop skills or acquire knowledge. Therefore, it best predicts future training performance, not current knowledge or skill level. [Show Less]