Staffing

Question 1

________ refers to the search for qualified applicants to fill job vacancies at an organization.

Answer 1

Recruitment

This is the definition of recruitment and is the first stage in the hiring process.

Question 2

Careful strategic planning and job analysis must be carried out to ensure that recruitment is geared towards meeting the needs of the ____________.

Answer 2

organization

The general needs, both in the immediate and longer term must be accessed to determine the type of recruitment that will be needed.

Question 3

After the recruitment objectives and job analysis results have been examined, the recruitment activities can commence and target both employees and the ________ labor market.

Answer 3

external

Employees are called the internal labor market. By targeting both markets, companies can increase their pool and diversity of qualified applicants.

Question 4

Companies can display job openings to their own employees by creating a job posting and searching a ______ inventory.

Answer 4

talent

A talent inventory is a database that contains a broad range of information about a company’s employees.

Question 5

Recruitment within an organization results in either a promotion or a ________.

Answer 5

transfer

A promotion occurs when an employee has been moved into a position that carries a higher status. Usually, the employee is also awarded a pay raise.

Question 6

Merit, seniority and potential are the three main criteria in determining _________.

Answer 6

promotion

Promoting an individual with potential is an incentive for that person to stay on at the firm rather than find new and more challenging opportunities elsewhere.

Question 7

Promotions that are based on previous performance and seniority are very common in most organizations and is called the ____ principle.

Answer 7

peter

The Peter Principle states that employees within an organization will advance to their highest level of competence and then be promoted to and remain at a level at which they are incompetent.

Question 8

A _____ describes a move to a position of a similar status in the same organization that can be advantageous to the employee as it allows him or her to gain varied experiences.

Answer 8

transfer

A transfer is a lateral move in a company with fairly similar status, responsibilities and salary, as opposed to a promotion, which is an upward move.

Question 9

A downward transfer is called a _______, where the employee is moved to a job of lower level and status.

Answer 9

demotion

Question 10

The main advantages of ______ recruitment are that it is cost-effective and increases employee loyalty; however the main drawbacks are that the most suitable candidate may not considered; also, infighting and inbreeding may result in the workplace.

Answer 10

internal

Question 11

_______ occurs when an employee who is familiar with the organization continues to do things in the same old way; resulting in a lack of creative expression for corporate improvement.

Answer 11

Inbreeding

Question 12

Companies can tap into the ________ labor market through a variety of electronic and other media, through referrals from employees and via employment agencies.

Answer 12

external

Employment agencies are normally an excellent method of obtaining qualified candidates.

Question 13

Large companies increasingly are subcontracting work to small businesses through a process called __________.

Answer 13

outsourcing

The increased practice of outsourcing specialized work has allowed many large firms to downsize and work with smaller staffs.

Question 14

Outsourcing, or subcontracting work to outside companies, is a common staffing strategy by companies that lack ___________ resources internally.

Answer 14

specialized

Although outsourcing might give a company increased flexibility and additional expertise, it can also result in a loss of control over the work and a greater dependence on suppliers.

Question 15

A _______ organization is a small, core organization that outsources major business functions.

Answer 15

virtual

Virtual organizations have created networks of relationships that allow them to contract out manufacturing, distribution, marketing, or any other business function where management feels others can do it better or cheaper.

Question 16

When there are labor _________ for a particular profession, then foreigners may be hired.

Answer 16

shortages

If there are insufficient numbers of suitable candidates for a particular profession or post, then companies may seek to offer that job to a foreigner who is qualified.

Question 17

The ______ workforce describes freelancers, part-time workers and subcontractors who are usually hired by organizations to meet unexpected or short-term challenges.

Answer 17

contingent

They are also sometimes known as free agents.

Question 18

An increasingly used recruiting strategy is for companies to hire temporary employees to assess their on-the-job ___________ before hiring them permanently.

Answer 18

performance

It is estimated that over a quarter of all temporary employees hired remain on the job assignment for one year or more.

Question 19

________ describes the process of choosing qualified applicants to fill available job openings. Although the selection program is under the formal purview of the HRM, hiring decisions are normally made by the line managers.

Answer 19

Selection

The line managers will be the persons in charge of these new recruits and so are well placed to make a decision on the type of employees they wish to work with in order to meet their overall goals.

Question 20

The __________ fit describes the process whereby the applicants knowledge, skills, abilities and other factors (KSAOs) are compared with the competencies required for that position.

Answer 20

person-job

Question 21

Apart from the person-job fit, another important consideration is the ___________________ fit.

Answer 21

person-organization

This refers to matching the applicants to wider organizational preferences.

Question 22

________ procedures that are commonly used by businesses include application forms, interviews, employment tests, background checks and medical or drug tests.

Answer 22

Selection

Medical tests are normally performed to ensure that an applicant is in a sufficiently healthy condition to carry out his or her job.

Question 23

The degree to which the various selection procedures produce comparable data over a period of time is known as _______.

Answer 23

reliability

An employment test is given to the same person three times in a week. Each time, the results are extremely different. This would indicate that the test is unreliable. A reliable test would produce consistent results.

Question 24

The information about an applicant must not only be reliable but also _____.

Answer 24

valid

A test may be reliable (i.e. produce consistent results every time), but not be valid (i.e. it doesn’t really prove anything or test the correct abilities).

Question 25

Application forms are commonly used by employers in the hiring process; however, due to Equal Employment Opportunity legislation, employers must _____ questions about age, gender, race, marital status and sexual orientation.

Answer 25

avoid

Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of age. Hence, such questions are generally not allowable.

Question 26

The purpose of standardized employment tests is to objectively measure a persons ____s and compare it to other candidates.

Answer 26

KSAO

KSAO stands for knowledge, skills, abilities and other factors. This will assist the HRM and line managers to come to a decision whether the applicant has adequate KSAOs that match to the job description.

Question 27

________ tests can be administered to gauge aptitude and achievement.

Answer 27

Employment

An achievement test measures what an applicant knows and can do at that point in time.

Question 28

The ________ test determines the candidates ability to learn.

Answer 28

aptitude

The ability to pick up new skills and ideas is critical in any working environment.

Question 29

Physical ability tests, job knowledge tests and work sample tests are other ________ administered tests utilized by employers.

Answer 29

commonly

These tests may be considered relevant for jobs which require considerable physical strength and stamina.

Question 30

A job knowledge test determines the applicants understanding of the job whereas the ___________ test examines the applicants ability to perform tasks that are similar to the actual job in order to enable selection based on competency.

Answer 30

work sample

The work sample test enables employers to view applicants ‘in action’ when carrying out the intended job functions.

Question 31

Normally, the key selection procedure, which is carried out in the vast majority of applications in the hiring process is the ______.

Answer 31

interview

The interview is the most popular selection procedure because it gives the selection panel the opportunity of judge the applicant face-to-face, it is usually easy to organize and serves public relations purposes.

Question 32

The different types of interview methods include the nondirective interview, structured interview, situational interview, __________ description interview, panel interview, computer interview and video interview.

Answer 32

behavioral

In the behavioral description interview, the applicant is asked about the actions he or she took in a real work incident that took place previously. For example, the interviewer may ask the applicant how he or she last disciplined an employee.

Question 33

The ____________ interview is one where the interviewer allows the applicant to determine the course of the discussion without making influencing comments.

Answer 33

nondirective

Question 34

The _____________ interview is one where the applicant is presented with a hypothetical situation and asked what he or she would do in the circumstances.

Answer 34

situational

Question 35

In making a decision on employee selection, employers will usually consider the applicants knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, values and __________.

Answer 35

motivation

Motivation is critical in determining if an applicant will make a good employee. It is pointless if an applicant has the knowledge, skills and abilities for the job but lacks the motivation to carry out the job itself.

Question 36

Research indicates that human ___________ can be described using just five traits.

Answer 36

personality

Psychologists call this The Big Five and they are: extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness.

Question 37

The ________ model says that five basic personality dimensions underlie all others.

Answer 37

Big five

Research on the Big Five has found important relationships between these personality dimensions and job performance.

Question 38

The two main approaches to making a selection decision are the clinical approach and the ___________ approach.

Answer 38

statistical

The clinical approach uses the personal judgments of the selection panel. They look at the applicants data and make a selection based on their understanding of the job.

Question 39

The main drawback with the clinical approach is that the selectors personal ______ can be masked by what appears to be legitimate reasons for acceptance or rejection.

Answer 39

biases

Selectors can use legitimate reasons for acceptance or rejection to choose or eliminate applicants. For example, a selector who is biased against non-white persons may discount a non-white applicant on the grounds that he or she lacks the motivation to perform the job; when that is not the case.

Question 40

The ___________ approach of selection making is more objective because it examines data using the compensatory model, the multiple cutoff model or the multiple hurdle model to determine which candidate is most suitable for the job.

Answer 40

statistical

The compensatory model makes a selection decision taking into consideration that a high score in one area can be used to set off a lower score in another area. However, candidates are normally required to attain a minimum level of competency in all of the tests.

Question 41

The multiple cutoff model only selects candidates that attain a _______ score for each selection test whereas the multiple hurdle model only selects applicants to go on to the next stage where they have attained the highest scores on the initial tests.

Answer 41

minimum

With the multiple cutoff model, a set cutoff score is assigned to each selection dimension and only applicants that reach that score will be considered.

Question 42

_______ turnover can be defined as a situation when employees decide to leave their job in an organization without being asked or forced to do so.

Answer 42

Voluntary

Question 43

Companies try to keep their voluntary turnover low; it is bad for their business because it is _________.

Answer 43

expensive

When an employee leaves the company, time, resources and money will have to be spent in finding and training a suitable replacement.

Question 44

Some of the common reasons given by employees for leaving a company voluntarily are the lack of organizational support, poor _____________ with co-workers as well as their inability to balance work and non-work demands.

Answer 44

relationships

If an employee feels that an organization is not taking the time to find out his or her needs, such as in their preferred career path, then the employee is more likely to leave.

Question 45

In order to understand the reasons for voluntary turnover, some companies have introduced an ___________ for completion by employees who are about to leave.

Answer 45

exit survey

The exit survey allows employees to explain their reasons for leaving the company.

Question 46

Organizations try to avoid reductions in their workforce, such as lay-offs because it can give rise to feelings of resentment and emotional anxiety in employees and therefore can have long-term implications for employee _______ and turnover.

Answer 46

loyalty

Employees are not likely to be very loyal to a company where lay-offs occur regularly or are handled badly.

Question 47

Some of the ways in which a firm can avoid lay-offs are by limiting overtime, retraining, not renewing part-time and contract workers, lowering the hours of the workweek, giving temporary leave, reducing executive pay and offering early __________ with preferential conditions.

Answer 47

retirement

Early retirement is an excellent way of reducing the workforce. This employee would be relatively close to retirement and can be given financial inducements to leave early.

Question 48

The consequences of lay-offs include the loss of reputation in the labor market; severance payments to laid-off workers, litigation costs from disgruntled employees and when the economy picks up again there will be ____________ staff.

Answer 48

insufficient

As the economy grows again, there will not be enough staff members and so there will be additional re-hiring costs and possible loss of business when the company lacks employees to run the business efficiently.