True/False Questions
1. Human resource management practices have been shown to positively impact company
performance by contributing to employee and customer satisfaction, innovation,
productivity, and company reputation.
Answer: True Page: 4 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
2. Human resource management refers to policies, practices, and systems that influence
employees' behavior, attitudes, and performance.
Answer: True Page: 4 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6, 10 BT: Knowledge
3. The human resource department is most likely to collaborate with other company
functions on outplacement, labor law compliance, testing, and unemployment
compensation.
Answer: False Page: 5 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 1, 6, 10 BT: Knowledge
4. The three product lines of HR include a) administrative services and transactions, b)
financial services, and c) strategic partners.
Answer: False Page: 7 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
5. HR professionals need to have six competencies as identified by the Human Resource
Competency Study.
Answer: True Page: 7 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
6. The role of HRM in administration has remained the same despite advances in
technology.
Answer: False Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 12 BT: Knowledge
7. Advances in technology have allowed HR services to be offered more on a self-service
basis than in the past.
Answer: True Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 12 BT: Knowledge
8. Many administrative activities of HR, such as payroll administration, training, and
selection, are being outsourced.
Answer: True Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
9. Human resource departments have only recently come to be viewed as administrative
experts and employee advocates.
Answer: False Page: 10 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
10. Evidence-based HR provides managers with data to make decisions, instead of just
intuition.
Answer: True Page: 11 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
11. Stakeholders of a company includes employees and shareholders.
Answer: True Page: 13 LO: 2 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
12. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 25 percent of the workers
will reach retirement age by 2010, resulting in a potential worker shortage of 10 million.
Answer: True Page: 14 LO: 2 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
13. By 2012, employment demand is expected to be greatest in professional and related
services.
Answer: True Page: 14 LO: 2 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
14. Occupations that are fastest growing provide the highest pay related to the occupation.
Answer: False Page: 17 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
15. A learning organization embraces a culture of lifelong learning, enabling all employees
to continuously acquire and share knowledge.
Answer: True Page: 20 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
16. The psychological contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what
the company will provide to the employee in return for these contributions.
Answer: True Page: 20 LO: 2 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
17. The use of alternative work arrangements, which include independent contractors,
on-call workers, temporary workers, and contract company workers, is shrinking.
Answer: False Page: 22 LO: 2 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
18. To be effective, balanced scorecards must be customized by companies to fit their
market situations, products, and competitive environments.
Answer: True Page: 24 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 13 BT: Knowledge
19. The balanced scorecard should be used to link marketing to the company's human
resource management activities.
Answer: False Page: 25 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
20. Corporate cultures within companies that successfully implement TQM typically
emphasize individualism, hierarchy, accountability, and profits.
Answer: False Page: 28 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
21. ISO 9000 certification is an integral component of W. Edwards Deming's quality
control process.
Answer: False Page: 28 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
22. In the coming years, the U.S. workforce is predicted to become more diverse in terms of
age, ethnicity, and racial background.
Answer: True Page: 31 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
23. As many older workers leave the workforce permanently, a new challenge arises, how
to capture their unique knowledge and expertise.
Answer: True Page: 32 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
24. Cultural diversity can provide a company a competitive advantage regarding
problem-solving.
Answer: True Page: 35 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
25. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 sets strict rule for corporate behavior and sets heavy
fines and prison terms for noncompliance.
Answer: True Page: 38 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
26. Nearly 80 percent of people access the Internet most often from home, while 30 percent
do so at work.
Answer: False Page: 43 LO: 4 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
27. E-HRM is more applicable to practices associated with recruiting and training than
those associated with analysis and design work, selection, and compensation and
benefits.
Answer: False Page: 46 LO: 5 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 12 BT: Comprehension
28. HR dashboard is a series of indicators that managers and employees have access to on
the company intranet or human resource information system.
Answer: True Page: 48 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
29. Compensating human resources involves measuring employees' performance.
Answer: False Page: 53 LO: 7 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
Multiple Choice Questions
30. _____ refers to a company's ability to maintain and gain market share in its industry.
A) Outsourcing
B) Competitiveness
C) Self-service
D) Empowerment
Answer: B Page: 4 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
31. Many companies refer to HRM as involving _______.
A) “motivation practices”
B) “financial practices”
C) “people practices”
D) “compensation practices”
Answer: C Page: 4 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
32. Strategic HR Management includes all but one of the following. Name the exception.
A) Financial planning
B) Training and development
C) Performance management
D) Recruiting talent
Answer: A Page: 5 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
33. Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of HR departments?
A) Recruiting
B) Benefits
C) Community relations
D) Financial management
Answer: D Page: 6 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
34. Which of the following is not a product line of human resources?
A) Administrative services and transactions
B) Strategic partner
C) Human capital partner
D) Business partner services
Answer: C Page: 6 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
35. Which of the following best describes a cultural steward?
A) Shapes the organization
B) Delivers results with integrity
C) Facilitates change
D) Recognizes business trends and their impact on the business
Answer: C Page: 6 LO: 1 Difficulty: Hard
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
36. Giving employees on-line access to information about HR issues such as training,
benefits, and compensation is known as
A) outsourcing.
B) continuous learning.
C) self-service.
D) strategic planning.
Answer: C Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6, 12 BT: Knowledge
37. The practice of having another company (a vendor, third-party provider, consultant)
provide services traditionally associated with the administrative role of HR is known as
A) e-commerce.
B) empowering.
C) outsourcing.
D) benchmarking.
Answer: C Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
38. Traditionally, the HRM department was primarily a(n) ______?
A) business minded
B) finance expert
C) employer advocate
D) administrative expert
Answer: D Page: 9 LO: 1 Difficulty: Hard
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
39. Which one of the following statements about the HR profession is not true?
A) A college degree is required of HR specialists, but not of generalists
B) Generalists usually perform the full range of HRM activities, including recruiting,
training, compensation, and employee relations
C) Professional certification in HRM continues to be less common than membership in
professional associations
D) The primary professional organization for HRM is the Society for Human Resource
Management
Answer: A Page: 12 LO: 1 Difficulty: Hard
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
40. All of the following competitive challenges faced by companies will increase the
importance of human resource management except
A) the global challenge.
B) the challenge of sustainability.
C) the economic challenge.
D) the technology challenge.
Answer: C Page: 13 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
41. _____ refers to the ability of a company to survive and succeed in a dynamic
competitive environment.
A) Competitiveness
B) Empowerment
C) Sustainability
D) Resource management
Answer: C Page: 13 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
42. Sustainability includes all of the following except
A) put methods in place to determine if the company is exceeding profit expectations
for the benefit of stockholders.
B) the ability to deal with economic and social changes.
C) engage in responsible and ethical business practices.
D) provide high quality products and services.
Answer: A Page: 13 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
43. For 23 of the 30 fastest growing occupations, the most significant source of
postsecondary education or training is at least an ______ degree.
A) associate
B) bachelors
C) masters
D) doctorate
Answer: D Page: 16 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
44. Tacit knowledge is an example of _______ capital.
A) Social
B) Customer
C) Intangible
D) Intellectual
Answer: C Page: 18 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
45. Which one of the following is not true of knowledge workers?
A) They often contribute specialized knowledge that their managers may not have,
such as information about customers
B) They have many job opportunities
C) They are in high demand because of the growth in service-producing jobs
D) They compete through manual labor and intellectual labor
Answer: D Page: 19 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
46. Empowerment is defined as
A) the movement of women and minorities into managerial positions.
B) giving employees responsibility and authority to make decisions regarding all
aspects of product development or customer service.
C) leading employees by the strength of one's charisma.
D) the act of continually learning and improving one's skills and abilities.
Answer: B Page: 19 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 10 BT: Knowledge
47. A ______ contract describes what an employee expects to contribute and what the
company will provide to the employee for these contributions.
A) employer
B) employee
C) psychological
D) job
Answer: C Page: 20 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
48. All of the following are examples of alternative work arrangements except
A) independent contractors.
B) current labor force.
C) on-call workers.
D) temporary workers.
Answer: B Page: 22 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
49. The balanced scorecard
A) is similar to most measures of company performance.
B) uses indicators important to the company's strategy.
C) is a standardized instrument of company performance.
D) should not be applied to HR practices.
Answer: B Page: 24 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
50. The balanced scorecard presents a view of company performance from the perspective
of
A) customers.
B) employees.
C) both employees and customers.
D) employees, customers, and shareholders.
Answer: D Page: 24 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
51. According to the financial perspective of the balanced scorecard, which of the following
questions should be answered?
A) How do customers see us?
B) Can we continue to improve and create value?
C) What must we excel at?
D) How do we look to shareholders?
Answer: D Page: 25 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
52. Increasingly, companies are recognizing that ______ can help boost a company’s image
with customers and gain access to new markets.
A) a balanced scorecard approach to business
B) diversity
C) total quality management
D) social responsibility
Answer: D Page: 27 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
53. Deming's approach to quality emphasizes
A) making the product or service conform to engineering standards.
B) reducing variability in the product or service.
C) preventing errors rather than correcting errors.
D) tying pay to employees' total output less rejects.
Answer: C Page: 28 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
54. “How senior executives create and sustain corporate citizenship, customer focus, clear
values, and expectations, and promote quality and performance excellence” is the
definition for which Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criterion?
A) Strategic planning
B) Human resource focus
C) Information and analysis
D) Leadership
Answer: D Page: 28 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
55. Which one of the following is not true of the Six Sigma process?
A) The objective of the process is to create a total business focus on serving the
customer
B) Training is an important component of the process
C) The process is one of seven categories evaluated within the Malcolm Baldrige
Quality Award
D) The process involves measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling processes
once they have been brought within six quality tolerances or standards Answer: C Page: 30 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 9 BT: Comprehension
56. The _____ labor force consists of current employees, while the _____ labor market
includes persons actively seeking employment.
A) projected; current
B) current; projected
C) external; internal
D) internal; external
Answer: D Page: 30 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
57. Since 1996, when the Six Sigma quality initiative was started, it produced more than $2
billion in benefits for ______.
A) Proctor & Gamble
B) GE
C) AT&T
D) GM
Answer: B Page: 30 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 9 BT: Knowledge
58. Worker performance and learning are ______ by aging.
A) not adversely affected
B) slightly affected
C) moderately affected
D) adversely affected
Answer: A Page: 31 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
59. The fastest growing segment of the labor force is
A) ages 21-34.
B) ages 35-44.
C) ages 45-54.
D) ages 55-64.
Answer: D Page: 31 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
60. Which one of the following statements about the composition of the U.S. labor force in
the next decade is true?
A) Labor force growth is greater than at any other time in U.S. history
B) The largest proportion of the labor force is expected to be in the 16-to-25-year age
group
C) There will be fewer white males than minorities or women in the labor force
D) The number of “baby boom” workers will increase faster than any other age group
Answer: D Page: 31 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
61. What percent of new immigrant workers will be Hispanic and Asian by the year 2012?
A) 90%
B) 70%
C) 50%
D) 30%
Answer: B Page: 33 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 10, 13 BT: Knowledge
62. Which percentage of Hispanics are employees at restaurants?
A) 25%
B) 30%
C) 50%
D) 60%
Answer: B Page: 34 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
63. Regardless of their background, most employees value
A) the ability to challenge the status quo.
B) more simplistic tasks requiring fewer skills.
C) managerial positions.
D) work that leads to self-fulfillment.
Answer: D Page: 34 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
64. Managing cultural diversity involves
A) enforcing EEO rules.
B) creating separate career tracks for employees with families.
C) establishing a strong affirmative action policy.
D) creating a workplace that makes it comfortable for employees of all backgrounds to
be creative and innovative.
Answer: D Page: 35 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 5, 6 BT: Knowledge
65. How diversity issues are managed in companies has implications for all the following
except
A) knowing how to learn.
B) creativity.
C) retaining good employees.
D) problem solving.
Answer: A Page: 35 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 5, 6 BT: Comprehension
66. Managing cultural diversity can provide a competitive advantage by
A) decreasing the number of available women and minorities in the company's labor
pool.
B) helping women and minorities understand they must conform to organizational
norms and expectations.
C) helping companies produce better decisions by including all employees'
perspectives and analysis.
D) identifying product markets on which the company should focus.
Answer: C Page: 35 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 5, 6 BT: Knowledge
67. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, managers need to develop
A) communications and coaching skills.
B) analytical and financial skills.
C) persuasion and planning skills.
D) networking and language skills.
Answer: A Page: 35 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 5, 6 BT: Comprehension
68. Diversity is important for trapping all of the following except
A) cultural skills
B) communication skills
C) creativity
D) homogeneous thinking
Answer: D Page: 36 LO: 3 Difficulty: Hard
AACSB: 5, 6 BT: Analysis
69. What areas of legislation will continue to have the most influence on HRM practices in
the next decade?
A) Equal employment opportunity, safety and health, pay and benefits, privacy, and
job security
B) Executive compensation, pay and benefits, workers' compensation, safety and
health, and job security
C) Product liability, workers' compensation, equal employment opportunity, safety
and health, and labor relations
D) Equal employment opportunity, patent infringement, workers' compensation, safety
and health, and job security
Answer: A Page: 37 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
70. There will likely be continued discussion, debate, and possible legislation in all but one
of the following areas. Name the exception.
A) Genetic testing
B) Glass walls
C) Employment-at-will
D) Access to the physical work environment
Answer: D Page: 37 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 7 BT: Knowledge
71. Litigation involving job security will have a major influence on human resource
management practices because
A) work rules, recruitment practices, and performance evaluation systems might
falsely communicate lifetime employment agreements that the company does not
intend to honor during layoffs or plant closings.
B) adjustments of test scores to meet affirmative action requirements are now illegal.
C) employees now bear the burden of proof in discrimination cases.
D) compensation awards for discrimination claims have increased.
Answer: A Page: 37 LO: 3 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6, 7 BT: Comprehension
72. Which of the following is one of the four ethical principles of a successful company?
A) Managers assume all responsibility for the actions of the company
B) It has a strong profit orientation
C) Customer, client, and vendor relationships emphasize mutual benefits
D) It does not produce products that can be used for violent purposes
Answer: C Page: 38 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 2, 6 BT: Knowledge
73. Which legislation act sets new strict rules for business especially as regards accounting
practices?
A) Human Rights Act of 1994
B) Reverse Discrimination Act of 1990
C) Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
D) Corruption and Practices Act of 2000
Answer: C Page: 38 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 7 BT: Knowledge
74. Which of the following is not a standard that human resource managers must satisfy for
practices to be ethical?
A) Managers must treat employees as family
B) Human resource practices must result in the greatest good for the largest number of
people
C) Employment practices must respect basic human rights of privacy, due process, and
free speech
D) Managers must treat employees and customers equitably and fairly
Answer: A Page: 39 LO: 3 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 2, 6 BT: Knowledge
75. Exporting jobs from developed to less developed countries refers to
A) insourcing.
B) offshoring.
C) importing.
D) onshoring
Answer: B Page: 41 LO: 4 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 13 BT: Knowledge
76. Exporting jobs to rural parts of the United States is refers to
A) insourcing.
B) offshoring.
C) importing.
D) onshoring
Answer: D Page: 42 LO: 4 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 13 BT: Knowledge
77. Technology has reshaped all of the following except
A) the way we play.
B) the way we work.
C) the way we communicate.
D) the way we travel.
Answer: D Page: 43 LO: 4 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
78. Which of the following is not typically true of work teams?
A) They are used to increase employee responsibility and control
B) They use cross-training to give employees knowledge on a wide range of skills.
C) They frequently select new team members and plan work schedules
D) They are especially effective when headed by managers skilled in controlling,
planning, and coordinating activities
Answer: D Page: 45 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 10 BT: Comprehension
79. Which of the following is not recommended for supporting work teams?
A) Reducing flexibility and interaction between employees to maintain high
productivity
B) Giving employees formal performance feedback
C) Linking compensation and rewards with performance.
D) Allowing employees to participate in planning changes in equipment, layout, and
work methods.
Answer: A Page: 45 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 10 BT: Comprehension
80. New organizational structures emphasize
A) efficiency, decision making by managers, and the flow of information from top to
bottom of the organization.
B) a core set of values, elimination of boundaries between managers and employees
and organizational functions, and employees who have immediate access to
information used for decision making.
C) a core set of values, defining clear boundaries between managers and employees
and the functional areas, and a constant state of learning.
D) internal linking, external linking, diversification, and a core set of values.
Answer: B Page: 46 LO: 6 Difficulty: Hard
AACSB: 6 BT: Knowledge
81. Which of the following is false about high-involvement, adaptive organizational
structures?
A) Employees are in a constant state of learning and performance improvement
B) Employees are free to move wherever they are needed in a company
C) Line employees are trained to specialize in one job in order to maximize efficiency
D) Previously established boundaries between managers, employees, customers, and
vendors are abandoned
Answer: C Page: 46 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehensive
82. From the manager's perspective, an HRIS can be used to perform primarily all but one
of the following. Name the exception.
A) Support strategic decision making
B) Avoid litigation
C) Evaluate programs and policies
D) Motivate employees
Answer: D Page: 47 LO: 6 Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
83. All of the following HR practices support high-performance work systems except
A) employees participate in selection process.
B) jobs are designed to use a variety of skills.
C) employee rewards are related to company performance.
D) individuals tend to work separately.
Answer: D Page: 48 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
84. Which one of the following is not associated with managing the human resource
environment?
A) Linking HRM practices to the company's business objectives
B) Identifying human resource requirements through human resource planning,
recruitment, and selection
C) Ensuring that HRM practices comply with federal, state, and local laws
D) Designing work that motivates and satisfies the employee as well as maximizes
customer service, quality, and productivity
Answer: B Page: 48 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
85. Managing the assessment and development of human resources involves all but one of
the following. Name the exception.
A) Determining employees' productivity and the quality of their work
B) Creating an employment relationship and work environment that benefits both the
company and the employee
C) Recruiting employees and placing them in jobs that best use their skills
D) Identifying employees' work interests, goals, and values, and other career issues
Answer: C Page: 53 LO: 6 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Comprehension
Essay Questions
86. Name and discuss the competencies that HR professionals need.
Page: 8 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Analysis
Answer:
1. Credible activist: delivers results with integrity, shares information, builds
trusting relationships, and influences others, providing candid observation,
taking appropriate risks.
2. Cultural steward: facilitates change, develops and values the culture, and helps
employees navigate the culture.
3. Talent manager/organizational designer: develop talent, design reward systems,
and shapes the organization.
4. Strategic architect: recognizes business trends and their impact on the business,
evidence-based HR, and develops people strategies that contribute to the
business strategy.
5. Business Ally: understands how the business makes money and the language of
the business.
6. Operational executor: implements workplace policies, advances HR technology,
and administers day-to-day work of maintaining people.
87. How has the role of HRM changed in recent years? Discuss three trends that are
changing the HRM function. Why have these roles changed?
Page: 9-10 LO: 1 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6 BT: Analysis
Answer:
The amount of time that the HRM function devotes to administrative tasks is decreasing, and its roles as a strategic business partner, change agent, and employee advocate are increasing. One trend seen today is that the role of HRM in administration is decreasing as technology is used for many administrative purposes, such as managing employee records and allowing employees to get information about and enroll in training, benefits, and other programs. Another trend is that outsourcing of the administrative role is
occurring quite frequently. Additionally, HRM is becoming more proactive and less reactive. Roles such as practice development and strategic business partnering have increased.
HRM roles have changed because managers see HRM as the most important lever for companies to gain competitive advantage over both domestic and foreign competitors.
88. What is empowerment and what type of training must be conducted to make it
effective?
Page: 19 LO: 2 Difficulty: Medium
AACSB: 6, 10 BT: Analysis
Answer:
Empowerment means giving employees the responsibility and authority to make
decisions regarding the aspects of product development or customer service under their control. Employees are held accountable for products and services; in return, they share the resulting rewards and losses.
For empowerment to succeed, managers must be trained to link employees to resources。
