HRM 300 Week 3 Assignment Help

HRM 300 Week 3 Assignment Help |  University of Phoenix | Assignment Help

1.            Clearwater Electronics is revising its strategic HR plan and comparing employment needs to the level of sales. The company has recently seen a 30 percent increase in sales, and the salespeople say that they anticipate an increase soon of 70 percent. However, the HR director, who oversees the HR planning process, does not believe the company will need to hire 70 percent more employees to meet the projected sales numbers. How can a simple linear regression, as part of the HR planning process, help the HR director make a more accurate determination of projected staffing needs?

o             A simple linear regression will help the HR director by correlating the relationship between past staffing needs and sales to determine the number of employees to hire.

o             A simple linear regression will help the HR director by looking at the cause-and-effect relationship between sales and employees’ production.

o             A simple linear regression will help the HR director by comparing all parameters of the relationship between sales and other functions of the business.

o             A simple linear regression will help the HR director by showing a positive linear relationship between employment, sales, and production.

2.            Clearwater Electronics’ HR recruiters have been asked to participate in a portion of the HR planning review. Their contribution will cover recruiting needs in relation to the factors that affect recruiting and the changes they have seen in the workforce. Why is it a good idea for the HR plan to consider changes recruiters have seen in the company’s workforce?

o             HR planning needs to consider how recruiters affect the selection process and the applicant pool to ensure that positions are filled with the best candidates.

o             HR planning needs to rely on the expertise of the recruiters in order to determine what resources to invest in the recruitment process.

o             HR planning needs to be aware of the opinions of the recruiters. If recruiters feel they are not valued, they can quickly sabotage the hiring process, which will affect the whole company.

o             HR planning needs to consider changes in the external environment—such as fewer young workers, different job skills, and advances in technology—and how these changes shape the workforce.

3.            The HR department at Clearwater Electronics has received several complaints from new employees who say their job descriptions do not match what they are doing. They say they feel misled, and some of them have indicated they are thinking of quitting. The HR department is currently conducting a review of the job descriptions, in conjunction with the line managers. How can HR professionals best help to avoid a situation like this?

o             HR professionals should continually review and revise job descriptions because employees know best what work needs to be accomplished.

o             HR professionals should examine the job descriptions and determine if the new employees need more training.

o             HR professionals should talk to the new employees and determine if they just do not understand the job or if they just tend to be negative.

o             HR professionals should work closely with managers to ensure job descriptions are accurate and aligned with the strategic HR plan.

4.            Clearwater Electronics is implementing a new human resource information system (HRIS). Which of the following statements best explains how the system will benefit recruiting?

o             Because the recruitment process can be very costly, the HRIS system will help recruiters gather data in a less expensive manner.

o             Because the recruitment process involves a variety of recruiting methods, the HRIS system will help recruiters determine which method brings in the right types of applicants.

o             Because the recruitment process gathers confidential information, it will be better for the data to be stored in the HRIS system where it is more secure.

o             Because the recruitment process requires a lot of data, the HRIS system can more easily coordinate the data and then simulate organizational changes to ascertain future staffing needs.

5.            Ashlyn works as an HR recruitment director for Clearwater Electronics, which is merging with another company, Laramie Peak Electric. The companies anticipate there will be excess employees as a result of the merger, creating a large pool of highly qualified individuals. With this in mind, Ashlyn and her team should do which of the following as they work to fill positions in the new organization?

o             The recruiting team should closely tie their recruiting to HR planning and selection.

o             The recruiting team should recruit employees from external sources in order to avoid any sign of partiality toward employees of either company.

o             The recruiting team should fill the positions with the most experienced and senior employees from both companies.

o             The recruiting team should fill the positions with employees who make the least in salary but still have some experience.

6.            The HR department at Clearwater Electronics administers different tests to candidates for managerial positions to identify people with the traits and skills managers need to be successful leaders. The tests are meant to measure the leadership qualities of competence, work ethic, and emotional intelligence. Which of the following statements best explains why is it important for tests measuring these competencies to be valid?

o             A valid test will help the company choose the candidate who is most likable and will get along best with other employees.

o             A valid test will help the company predict how well a candidate will perform based on his or her test score.

o             A valid test will help the company choose candidates who will best fit into the company culture.

o             A valid test will help the company predict which candidate will stay in the job the longest.

7.            Gavin, an assistant HR manager at Clearwater Electronics was assigned to develop a weighted application blank (WAB) to replace the traditional application that has been used for decades when hiring production employees. With the help of several line managers, Gavin has identified job application questions that predict desired employee behaviors and outcomes and has weighted the criteria based on importance. How will the company benefit from the use of this selection tool?

o             A WAB will help the company identify candidates who would be better suited for office work rather than production work.

o             A WAB will allow the company to quickly identify job candidates who have a propensity for negative behaviors that could influence other production workers.

o             A WAB will provide the company with information about production job candidates that was not previously collected.

o             A WAB will allow the company to rapidly screen many candidates for specific production jobs and determine which ones are likely to stay with the company.

8.            For a quarterly review of the HR department, the HR director at Clearwater Electronics must demonstrate the consistency of a skills test administered to new employees. The HR director plans on using the split-half reliability method—where questions are split in half and two scores are computed for each person—to determine the internal consistency of the skills test. Why is using this method a good idea?

o             The split-half reliability method allows test scores to be weighted for applicability to job performance.

o             The split-half reliability method allows test questions to be scrutinized for validity and internal consistency.

o             The split-half reliability method allows two scores to be correlated, and a high correlation demonstrates that test questions are internally consistent.

o             The split-half reliability method allows test questions to be ranked in importance from highest to lowest to demonstrate internal consistency.

9.            The maintenance department manager at Clearwater Electronics reported that one of his best employees has told everyone he is gay. Three other employees, who have worked with this individual for four years, contacted the manager and said they were now uncomfortable working alongside this person and want him to be transferred or else they will request to be transferred. The manager is supportive of his gay employee and does not want to transfer him. However, he also feels he cannot lose three other employees. Clearwater has formal LGBTQ awareness training in place as well as inclusive management training. How can the HR director best help the manager and the company prevent discriminatory conduct in the maintenance department?

o             Tell the manager that you will provide LGBTQ training for his department and allow the employees to express their concerns without fear of retaliation.

o             Tell the manager he will have to make a choice between the employees and offer to help him find a replacement employee (or employees) as quickly as possible.

o             Bring in the three employees to review the LGBTQ policy with them and help them understand that workplace harassment based on a colleague’s LGBTQ identity is unkind. Help them understand they should treat him with kindness and respect.

o             Bring in the three employees and review the LGBTQ policy with them to ensure they understand that workplace harassment based on a colleague's LGBTQ identity is unacceptable. Let them know it is their choice to determine if they want to continue working at the company.

10.          A recent internal review by the HR department at Clearwater Electronics revealed that the accounting department failed to meet the company’s yearly targets for affirmative action and equal opportunity hiring. HR looked at the recruiting methods used by the department and has suggested they add recruiting through employment agencies to the hiring process. How can this method help the accounting department increase diversity in its pool of applicants in the future and reach its yearly targets?

o             Employment agencies can help the company identify barriers to entry for underrepresented groups.

o             Employment agencies can help the company understand the value employees from underrepresented groups bring.

o             Employment agencies can deliberately target underrepresented groups for the company.

o             Employment agencies can find potential employees for the company at job fairs and universities.

11.          One of the engineers at Clearwater Electronics is a devout Muslim and is required to attend prayer services at his mosque during the day on Friday for a short period. He has asked his direct supervisor in the past if he might take time off, but his supervisor said it would be too inconvenient. The engineer has now asked HR for help in determining if a reasonable accommodation could be made so he can attend the midday prayer service. Which of the following statements would be considered the best “reasonable accommodation” HR can present to the supervisor?

o             The company could allow the engineer to take his lunch break to attend the prayer service. If he is late returning, he can make up the time at the end of the day.

o             The company could remodel a storage area as a prayer space, which would require at least six thousand dollars for the remodel because of the need for washroom facilities.

o             The company could tell the engineer to pray wherever he can find space and just let his supervisor know when he will be gone.

o             The company could ask another employee to cover for the time the engineer is gone and pay them double for the inconvenience.

12.          The HR department at Clearwater Electronics, in conjunction with the company’s safety and health office, is developing a new safety training program that will be required for all production personnel. A pilot program was tested on a group of employees from one of the lines, and the trainers believed everything went well. After the training, line managers were asked to conduct safety observations four times a shift to gauge training success via increased safety behaviors. However, just a week after the training, one of the line managers reported that employees had left several tools out overnight instead of putting them away properly, something that was specifically covered in the training. The trainers reviewed the safety program and determined that an additional evaluation element, a contract plan, would help the employees remember and practice the safety techniques they learned in the training. Why would a contract plan be an effective way to ensure increased compliance with the safety training?

o             With a contract plan, the participants determine what new skills and behaviors need to be applied on the job, write a statement, and are held accountable to another person to demonstrate compliance.

o             With a contract plan, the participants determine who on the line is responsible for safety and report any safety violations to that person.

o             With a contract plan, the participants determine what constitutes safe behavior in their situation and agree verbally to abide by that determination.

o             With a contract plan, the participants determine what they will do and prepare a document to share with their line manager.

13.          The director of the quality engineering department at Clearwater Electronics has been on the job for three months. One of her responsibilities is to review and approve the performance appraisals conducted by the department managers. The director does not agree with a performance appraisal that Matt, a manager, just submitted for one of his team engineers, whom he rated highly. The director has requested to see the performance appraisals Matt submitted previously for this employee to understand why Matt’s evaluation is so high when she has not seen performance that warrants the high rating. She discovered that a year ago, the employee’s son died in a tragic accident. The employee missed only three days of work afterward. Matt, very impressed by the employee’s devotion to the company, gave the employee high PA ratings even though the work performed was not excellent and continues to give the employee high ratings. Which statement below best explains the rating error the director found in Matt’s performance appraisal of the engineer?

o             Matt’s ratings are subject to favoritism because he has overlooked the flaws of employees whom everyone likes.

o             Matt’s ratings are subject to the recency effect because he has rated only recent performance instead of looking at the entire review period.

o             Matt’s ratings are subject to the bias effect because he has allowed personal biases to influence the rating.

o             Matt’s ratings are subject to the halo effect because one measure of performance has positively affected other measures.

14.          One of the forklift operators in the logistics department at Clearwater Electronics had an accident that damaged property on one of the shipping docks. Clearwater has a policy that an employee who causes harm to someone or damage to property or equipment must submit to a mandatory drug test. The HR department always interviews the employee involved and is always notified of the results of the drug test. In this case, the drug test came back negative, but in the interview the employee admitted that she was not sleeping well because of stress stemming from problems with her teenage daughter. The employee and her daughter were referred to a counselor in Clearwater’s employee assistance program. How does the company benefit by aiding employees who suffer from domestic or family challenges, stress-related illnesses, and other personal issues?

o             The company benefits when employees, adversely affected on the job by personal issues, resolve their problems and return to a higher level of productivity.

o             The company benefits by helping employees deal with managers who may not understand the problems. HR can help explain the situation to the managers.

o             The company benefits by identifying employees who are at risk for mental illnesses, safety issues, and interpersonal problems.

o             The company benefits because its healthcare costs may be reduced by preventive care.

15.          Clearwater Electronics recently received a complaint via its employee hotline from a terminated employee claiming he was fired because he was disliked by his supervisor, whom he said had harassed him. The HR department handles all harassment claims, and an investigation was immediately opened. One of the first steps the HR director took was to review the former employee’s quarterly performance appraisals, which had been signed by both the supervisor and the employee. Over the course of a year, the performance appraisals documented the following: the employee was often absent, had consistently produced poor quality work, and was insubordinate to his supervisor on several occasions. The HR director closed the case after determining the supervisor had appropriately terminated the employee with good cause. Using this case as an example, why is it especially important for performance appraisals to have detailed information on an employee’s performance?

o             A performance appraisal provides documentation supporting the validity of employment decisions, including promotion, raises, and termination.

o             A performance appraisal provides documentation for the career path of the employee, along with opportunities for training and development.

o             A performance appraisal provides an employee the opportunity to self-assess performance and behaviors.

o             A performance appraisal provides information about the struggles an employee might be having at work.