Fundamentals of Supervision, Fall 2011

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Chapter 5: Staffing and Recruiting

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
1) Typically, the final hiring decision in large organizations is made by the:
A) department supervisor.
B) human resource manager.
C) staff specialist.
D) group facilitator.
E) management consultant.
2) Legislation that requires employers to make an active effort to recruit, select, train, and promote
members of protected groups is called:
A) workforce diversity.
B) equal employment.
C) Americans with Disabilities Act.
D) civil rights act.
E) affirmative action.
3) The Act that prohibits age discrimination against employees between the ages of 40 and 65 is called:
A) Equal Employment Act.
B) Civil Rights Act.
C) Right to Work Act.
D) Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
E) Mandatory Retirement Act.
4) The Act that permits employees in organizations with fifty or more workers to take up to twelve
weeks of unpaid leave each year for family or medical reasons is called:
A) Equal Employment Act.
B) Right to Work Act.
C) Affirmative Action.
D) Family and Medical Leave Act.
E) Civil Rights Act.
5) The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972:
A) exempts state and local governments from Title VII coverage.
B) amended the Equal Pay act of 1963.
C) established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
D) failed to give power to the EEOC to sue organizations who do not comply with the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
E) did not require employers to develop a plan of action to correct areas of past discrimination.
6) Affirmative action requires employers to make an active effort to recruit, select, train, and promote:
A) professional employees.
B) non-exempt employees.
C) 35% of minorities.

D) temporary employees.
E) members of protected groups.
7) Proponents of the 1964 Civil Rights legislation banded together to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
The act:
A) permits women and religious minorities to seek punitive damages in intentional discriminatory
claims.
B) permits hiring and firing based on seniority.
C) returns the burden of proof that discrimination did occur back to the employee.
D) condones hiring, firing, or promotion decisions on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, or religion.
E) specifically prohibits discrimination based on age.
8) A set of attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of employees who survive involuntary staff reductions is
called:
A) layoff-survivor sickness.
B) layoff sickness.
C) survivor illness.
D) retention awareness.
9) Employment resource planning can be condensed into two steps. Which one of the following is not
one of these steps?
A) Developing a program to meet future human resource needs
B) Assessing future human resource needs
C) Assessing current human resources
D) Assessing past human resources
10) The demand for the organization's overall human resources is a result of:
A) supply of qualified people.
B) purchasing orders.
C) demand for the organization's products or services.
D) competitive forces in the market place.
E) marketing research information.
11) A database listing name, education, training, prior employer, languages spoken, and other information
for each employee in the organization is called:
A) performance appraisal.
B) job evaluation.
C) time and motion study.
D) human resource inventory.
E) machine specification.
12) The process of locating, identifying, and attracting capable applicants is called:
A) selection.
B) hiring.
C) employment.
D) discrimination.
E) recruitment.

13) Nearly four out of five organizations uses this popular method to communicate to the public that it
has a vacancy:
A) internet.
B) walk-ins.
C) head-hunters.
D) referrals.
E) word of mouth.
14) A recruiting source that is good but may not increase the diversity and mix of employees is:
A) advertisements.
B) employee referral.
C) school placement.
D) internal searches.
E) temporary help.
15) Public employment agencies are perceived by prospective applicants as having few high-skilled jobs;
therefore, employers tend to see such agencies as:
A) suitable for top management positions.
B) places to hire applicants at a reduced salary.
C) non-functioning, and therefore do not use them at all.
D) having few high-skilled applicants.
E) screening agencies for management positions.
16) An advantage of using employee referrals to fill company vacancies include all of the following
EXCEPT FOR:
A) produces well qualified candidates.
B) knowledge about the potential employee.
C) creates diversity in the workplace.
D) knowledge about the company.
E) reflect on the current employee.
17) An excellent source of potential employees for entry-level positions in organizations is through:
A) management consultants.
B) temporary help services.
C) educational institutions' placement service.
D) head-hunter consulting groups.
E) private employment agencies.
18) A downsizing option that provides temporary involuntary termination and may last only a few days or
it may extend to years is called:
A) job sharing.
B) early retirement.
C) layoffs.
D) transfers.
E) firing.
19) A method for screening applicants and identifying the most appropriate candidate is:
A) job evaluation.
B) performance appraisal.
C) advertising.
D) recruiting.

E) the selection process.

20) Historically, what type of errors meant only that costs of selection would be increased because more
candidates would have to be screened?
A) Reject errors
B) Halo errors
C) Cost errors
D) Accept errors
E) Selection errors
21) For selection purposes, it is critical that application items have a proven relationship between a
selection device and some relevant criterion. This is called:
A) reliability.
B) fairness.
C) validity.
D) equality.
E) just.
22) The interview is most valid in determining all of the following about an applicant EXCEPT FOR:
A) level of motivation.
B) intelligence.
C) honesty.
D) interpersonal skills.
23) An expansion on information a new employee obtained during the recruitment and selection stages;
an attempt to familiarize new employees with the job, the work unit, and the organization as a whole
is called:
A) employee work group.
B) employee orientation.
C) employee development.
D) employee situation.
E) employee training.
24) Interviews can be reliable and valid selection tools as long as they are:
A) structured.
B) held to common questions.
C) well organized.
D) all of the above.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
5 - 1) Describe the activities that a supervisor will be involved in staffing decisions, regardless of the
size of the organization or the presence of a human resource department.

5 - 2)

Identify and explain five major federal laws dealing with employment discrimination.

Chapter 6: Controlling
25) The management function that is concerned with monitoring activities to ensure that they are being
accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations is:
A) controlling.
B) leading.
C) setting objectives.
D) organizing.
E) planning.
26) In the control function, the type of measure that offers a greater comprehensiveness and conciseness
is:
A) written reports.
B) oral reports.
C) personal observation.
D) diary logs.
E) subjective interpretation.
27) In the control application, what supervisors measure determines what:
A) job specialization is undertaken.
B) employees will attempt to emphasize.
C) form of employee empowerment is undertaken.
D) reactive stimuli are implemented.
E) leadership style is exhibited.
28) The step in the control function that determines the degree of variation between actual performance
and the standard is the:
A) comparing step.
B) job description.
C) collaborative step.
D) measuring step.
E) job specification.
29) The type of diagrams that are used to depict the causes of a certain problem and for grouping them
according to common categories such as machinery, materials, methods, personnel, finances, or
management are:
A) flow charts.
B) cause-effect diagrams.
C) systems diagrams.
D) scatter diagrams.
E) control charts.
30) Visual representations of the sequence of events for a particular process are called:
A) control charts.
B) flow charts.
C) cause-effect diagrams.
D) systems diagrams.
E) scatter diagrams.
31) The type of diagrams that illustrate the relationship between two variables such as height and weight
or the hardness of a ballbearing and its diameter are:

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

production schedules.
control charts.
empowerment diagrams.
scatter diagrams.
re-engineering work process.

32) Run charts of sample averages with statistically determined upper and lower limits are:
A) control charts.
B) plot diagrams.
C) Pareto diagrams.
D) production bottlenecks.
E) scatter diagrams.
33) The final step in the control process is:
A) tightening standards.
B) re-engineering of the work process.
C) correcting standards.
D) correcting deviations.
E) smoothing average cost.
34) A type of action that asks how and why performance deviated is called:
A) basic corrective action.
B) break even analysis.
C) profit diagrams.
D) corporate downsizing.
E) Pareto charts.
35) The type of control that anticipates and prevents undesirable outcomes is:
A) concurrent control.
B) basic corrective action.
C) feedback control.
D) preventive control.
E) corrective control.
36) The type of control that is enacted while the work is being done where management can correct
problems before they get out of hand or become too costly is:
A) concurrent control.
B) yes and no control.
C) feedback control.
D) steering control.
E) preventive control.
37) The type of control that provides feedback, after an activity is finished, in order to prevent any future
deviation is:
A) contact control.
B) preventive control.
C) corrective control.
D) proactive control.
E) break-even analysis.

38) Expenditures for labor that are directly applied in the creation or delivery of the product or service are
called:
A) raw material costs.
B) fixed costs.
C) indirect labor costs.
D) direct labor costs.
E) supportive supplies costs.
39) Expenditures for materials that go directly into the creation of a product or service are called:
A) utility costs.
B) maintenance costs.
C) indirect labor costs.
D) direct labor costs.
E) raw material costs.
40) An important component for supervisors in running an effective department is:
A) human resource planning.
B) budget planning.
C) tactical planning.
D) preparation of financial statements.
E) strategic planning.
41) A system where inventory items arrive when they are needed in the production process instead of
being stored in stock is called:
A) strategic planning.
B) material requirement planning.
C) inventory control.
D) production scheduling.
E) just-in-time inventory.
42) A concept where Japanese suppliers ship parts to manufacturers in containers with a card slipped into
a side pocket is called:
A) continuous improvement.
B) re-engineering of the work process.
C) material requirement planning.
D) employee empowerment.
E) kanban.
43) A process that emphasizes identifying mistakes that may have already occurred is called:
A) total quality management.
B) kanban.
C) quality assurance.
D) quality control.
E) CAD/CAM.
44) For supervisors to benefit from the control information provided by computer monitoring systems and
yet minimize the potential behavioral and legal drawbacks experts suggest that organizations do the
following:
A) tell current and new employees that they may be monitored.
B) monitor only those situations in which a legitimate business purpose is at stake.

C) have a written policy on monitoring posted, distributed to each employee, and acknowledged in
writing by each employee.
D) all of the above.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
6 - 1)

Discuss the three steps in the control process that a supervisor can take.

6 - 2) Identify and explain the four common sources of information used by supervisors to measure
actual performance.

Chapter 7: Problem Analysis and Decision Making

45) A rational and analytical way of looking at decisions is called the:
A) judgmental process.
B) intuitive process.
C) subjective instinct.
D) information super highway.
E) decision-making process.
46) The first step in the decision-making process is to:
A) interview employees.
B) diagram a decision tree.
C) evaluate alternatives.
D) collect information.
E) identify the problem.
47) A discrepancy between an existing and a desired state of affairs is called a:
A) Gantt chart.
B) graphic illustration.
C) problem.
D) bar chart.
E) PERT diagram.
48) Once the problem has been identified in the decision-making process, you will need to:
A) evaluate each alternative.
B) follow up and evaluate.
C) select the best alternative.
D) gather facts relevant to the problem.
E) develop alternatives.
49) A step in the decision-making process where you develop your creativity is the:
A) identification of the problem.
B) development of alternatives.
C) collection of relevant information.

D) evaluation and follow-up.

E) implementation of the decision.
50) A decision-making tool for supervisors that permits decision makers to place a monetary value on the
various consequences likely to result from the selection of a particular course of action is called the:
A) objective strategy.
B) strategy formulation.
C) intuitive approach.
D) expected value analysis.
E) probability of occurrence.
51) A useful way to analyze hiring, marketing, investment equipment purchases, pricing, and similar
decisions that involve a progression of decisions is to use:
A) marketing research.
B) accounting procedures.
C) a decision tree.
D) PERT diagrams.
E) just-in-time inventories.
52) The concept of marginal or incremental analysis helps decision makers to:
A) determine global competition.
B) optimize returns or minimize costs.
C) project government expenditures.
D) analyze gross national product.
E) analyze trade agreements.
53) A process that deals with the additional cost in a particular decision rather than the average cost is
called:
A) marginal analysis.
B) macroeconomics.
C) net productivity.
D) strategic planning.
E) net income.
54) A style of decision making that has a low tolerance for ambiguity and seeks rationality is the:
A) analytic style.
B) conceptual style.
C) self-managed team.
D) directive style.
E) behavioral style.
55) A style of decision making that characterizes managers as careful decision makers with the ability to
adapt or cope with new situations is a(n):
A) directive style.
B) autocratic style.
C) conceptual style.
D) behavioral style.
E) analytic style.

56) The ethical position in which decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes or
consequences is the:
A) utilitarian view of ethics.
B) self-value ethics.
C) rights view of ethics.
D) rationalization view of ethics.
E) justice view of ethics.
57) The ethical position that requires individuals to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially so
there is an equitable distribution of benefits and costs is the:
A) utilitarian view.
B) rights view.
C) management information system.
D) intuitive approach.
E) justice view.
58) There are two primary reasons for decisions increasingly being made by groups. One reason is the
desire to develop more and better alternatives. The other reason is:
A) minority domination.
B) pressures to conform.
C) less reliance on the historical idea that departments and other organizational units should be
separate and independent decision units.
D) groups make faster decisions.
E) ambiguous responsibility.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
7 - 1)

Identify the steps in the decision-making process for a supervisor.

7 - 2)

Identify and explain the styles of decision making.

Chapter 8: Motivating Followers

59) Motivation is defined as the willingness to do something and is conditioned by this action's ability to
satisfy:
A) human resource plans.
B) individual motives.
C) hierarchical levels.
D) standing plans.
E) some need for the individual.
60) A physiological or psychological deficiency that makes certain outcomes seem attractive is a:
A) motive.
B) desire.
C) want.

D) reward.
E) need.
61) Locus of control, Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self monitoring, and risk propensity have all been
singled out as having relevance to understanding the behavior and motivation of employees at work,
and are known as:
A) personality traits.
B) physiological contracts.
C) self-actualizing experiences.
D) physiological characteristics.
E) emotive behaviors.
62) A person who believes in the philosophy "the end justifies the means" is manipulative and is viewed
by some as being ruthless, exhibits tendencies of:
A) social Darwinism.
B) Theory "Z."
C) scaler chain.
D) manifest behaviors.
E) Machiavellianism.
63) People differ in the degree to which they like or dislike themselves. This trait is called:
A) achievement needs.
B) socializing.
C) self-esteem.
D) self-monitoring.
E) self-actualizing.
64) People differ in their willingness to take chances. Individuals who make rapid decisions and use less
information in making choices exhibit high:
A) risk-propensity.
B) tolerance levels.
C) leadership aspirations.
D) people skills.
E) self-esteem.
65) Under Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, hunger, thirst, shelter, sex and other bodily needs would
be included in which level of needs?
A) Psychological
B) Safety
C) Physiological
D) Esteem
E) Self-actualization
67) In this theory, Douglas McGregor proposed that managers assumed employees can view work as
being as natural as rest or play. This is called:
A) Theory Z.
B) Theory X.
C) equity theory of motivation.
D) expectancy theory of motivation.
E) Theory Y.

68) Frederick Herzberg stated that when characteristics such as salary and working conditions are
adequate, people will:
A) experience self-actualization.
B) not be dissatisfied or satisfied.
C) experience a high degree of achievement.
D) experience positive reinforcement.
E) create equity theory of motivation.
69) The motivation-hygiene theory is concerned more with:
A) self-actualization.
B) job satisfaction.
C) affiliation needs.
D) positive reinforcement.
E) self-esteem needs.
70) High achievers prefer job situations with
A) logs of communications.
B) personal responsibility, feedback, and or intermediate degree of risk.
C) teaching and thinking abilities.
D) no authority or delegation.
E) no responsibility, feedback or risk.
71) Equity theory states that employees perceive what they can get from a job situation in relation to what
they put into it and then compare their:
A) lower-order needs to higher-order needs.
B) input-outcome ratio to a standard ratio.
C) input-outcome ratio with the input-outcome ratio of others.
D) contributions to experience self-actualization.
E) self-monitoring relationship with others.
72) Employee motivation is influenced significantly by relative rewards as well as absolute rewards. This
would be advanced in the:
A) reinforcement theory of motivation.
B) equity theory of motivation.
C) hierarchy of needs theory.
D) expectancy theory of motivation.
E) hygiene theory.
73) The theory that argues that individuals analyze three relationships: effort-performance, performancerewards, and rewards-personal goals is:
A) equity theory.
B) Maslow's hierarchy.
C) McGregor's Theory X.
D) hygiene theory.
E) expectancy theory.
74) Allowing employees to participate in decisions that affect them will increase their level of:
A) self-awareness.
B) motivation.
C) collusion.
D) exploitiveness.

E) comprehension.
75) In the expectancy theory, motivation is maximized when supervisors make rewards contingent upon:
A) manipulation of standards.
B) power struggles.
C) authority relationships.
D) individual performance.
E) gold-bricking.
76) In order to arrive at the proper reward for each job, an ideal reward system should probably weight
inputs:
A) according to a group opinion.
B) based on the socialization process.
C) differently.
D) homogeneously.
E) via subjective interpretation.
77) To maximize motivation among today's diversified workforce, supervisors need to think in terms of:
A) socialization process.
B) group norms.
C) personality traits.
D) flexibility.
E) group norming.
78) Motivating a diverse workforce also means that supervisors must be:
A) flexible with employee benefits.
B) flexible by being aware of cultural differences.
C) flexible with shift work.
D) flexible with corporate policies.
E) flexible with spending.
79) Pay-for-performance programs are:
A) compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of seniority.
B) compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of salary only.
C) compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of hourly wages only.
D) compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of some performance level.
E) compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of commission.
80) A competency based compensation program pays and rewards employees on the basis of the:
A) skills, knowledge and education.
B) behaviors employees possess and knowledge.
C) skills, knowledge, and behaviors employees possess.
D) knowledge and skills.
E) none of the above.
81) Which personality trait shows considerable adaptability in adjusting behavior to external situational
factors?
A) Self-monitoring
B) Machiavellianism
C) Risk propensity

D) Locus of control
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
8 1 ) Identify and explain the five types of personality characteristics that have been singled out as
having relevance to understanding the behavior and motivation of employees at work.