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SPHR EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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SPHR EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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SPHR EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSWhich of the following is usually considered a lawful practice?
A. featherbedding
B. slowdowns
C. wildcat strikes
D. sympathy strikes
D. Sympathy strikes are not prohibited by the Labor-Relations Act. A worker may refuse
to cross a picket line at another employer's place of business when there is a strike
approved by a majority union. In some cases, a union contract may have clauses that
prohibit such a strike, but federal law does not prohibit such action. Featherbedding
(requiring more workers than necessary), slowdown (partial or intermittent strikes), and
wildcat strikes (strikes in violation of a no-strike provision are not lawful activities.
The concept of broadbanding was developed to
A. limit the autonomy of line managers
B. reduce employee mobility within the organization
C. work with flatter organizational structure
D. provide narrower salary ranges
C. Broadbanding combines several salary grades or job classifications with narrow pay
ranges into one band with a wider salary spread. This approach supports the de-
layering efforts designed to reduce the number of reporting levels within an
organization.
Computer hacking is a direct threat to which of the following:
A. human assets
B. financial assets
C. information assets
D. communication assets
The correct answer is C. Computer hacking is a prominent threat to information assets
In some foreign countries, bribery and kickbacks are widely viewed as a culturally
accepted way of facilitating business agreements. Which of the following should control
a U.S. company's decision about whether to engage in bribery as a foreign business
practice?
A. the laws of the foreign country involved
B. the United Nations Charter
C. U.S. law
D. all of the above
The correct answer is C. Bribery of foreign nationals is explicitly illegal under the U.S.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Bribery most likely also violates the laws of the
country involved, but this would not be a controlling factor in a country where bribery is
,an accepted business practice. And, though the General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Convention against Corruption in 2003, the UN Charter itself makes no mention
of bribery, kickbacks, or corruption.
Luisa, a Manager at Drlcom Mobile, has 12 direct reports. What is her span of control?
A. 6
B. 12
C. 24
D. It depends
The correct answer is B. A manager's span of control is defined as the number of
workers who report to her.
Jenna is a Sales Representative and receives her healthcare through her employer,
which has a contract with JRB, a health insurance company. It is a group health plan
that allows Jenna to go to any physician in her network without a referral, but if she
goes outside her network, she must pay a higher rate. Which of the following types of
healthcare plan does Jenna most likely have?
A. fee for service
B. point of service
C. preferred provider organization
D. health maintenance organization
The correct answer is C. Preferred provider organizations are contractual arrangements
between healthcare providers and an employer or health insurance company, which
allow subscribed members wide latitude to visit any physicians within the organization's
network of providers. Out-of-network care is available but at a higher price.
In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the employer must provide back pay for
employees who suffered monetary loss due to racial discrimination?
A. Albemarle Paper Co vs Moody (1975)
B. McDonell Douglas Corp vs Green (1973)
C. Griggs vs. Duke Power (1971)
D. Automobile Workers vs Johnson Controls (1977)
The correct answer is A. Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody established the principle that
criteria for employment tests must be tied directly to job requirements, and must not be
based solely on supervisor rankings. It also ruled that employers must provide back pay
for employees who suffered monetary loss due to racial discrimination.
Gerry's Jeans compensates its sales employees through a combination of a base salary
plus three percent of the employee's sales for the year. Which type of payment system
does Gerry's Jeans utilize?
A. merit pay
B. commission
,C. profit sharing
D. group incentive pay
The correct answer is B. Gerry's Jeans pays its employees through a commission
system.
What is the primary advantage of using global virtual teams?
A. By using team members from lower-wage countries, global virtual teams can lower
costs
B. By drawing on a larger pool of workers, global virtual teams can leverage higher-level
skills and competencies
C. By drawing on a larger pool of workers, global virtual teams can increase diversity
D. By operating in a virtual environment, global virtual teams can reduce overhead by
eliminating the need for office facilities and business travel
The correct answer is B. The primary advantage of using a global virtual team is that it
can draw upon a wide range of members with higher-level skills and competencies.
Diversity, by itself, is not a central business goal. And any cost savings that might result
from the use of global virtual teams is an ancillary benefit, not a primary advantage.
Tim is a Sales Manager; he begins his weekly team meeting by announcing that the
sales rep who secures the most letters of agreement by the end of winter will get three
extra paid vacation days. While the younger team members look excited, the older team
members look at each other and shrug. Which theory best describes this reaction to
Tim's plan?
A. McGregor's X or Y Theory
B. Vroom's Expectancy Theory
C. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
D. Herzberg's Two Factor Theory
The correct answer is B. According to Vroom, after assessing a situation to determine
whether an employee is capable of handling it, they will then determine whether the
anticipated reward justifies taking on the task. While some of the younger members of
the team may find more vacation time very appealing, older team members may not find
the anticipated reward worth the hustle.
You have been tasked with conducting a culture audit of your organization, as the first
step in a campaign to change the overall organizational culture. What is the best way to
gather information for this project?
A. employee survey
B. confrence with top management
C. in-person interviews with employees
D. focus groups with customers
The correct answer is C. A culture audit focuses on the attitudes, beliefs, and customs
of the organization's employees; as such, it does not take into account the views of
, customers. The audit should be extensive and organization-wide, not limited to the
views of top management. Extensive in-person interviews, which allow for follow-up
questions and detailed answers, will produce more and better information than a survey
of employees.
In ________, a neutral third party is invited into deadlocked negotiations to make
decisions which both negotiating parties agree to abide by.
A. mediation
B. moderation
C. arbitration
D. constructive confrontation
The correct answer is C. Arbitration is the use of a neutral third party, an arbitrator,
invited into negotiations by both contending parties to resolve an impasse.
The midpoint for a particular pay grade at Walsh Technologies is $60,000. What would
you expect to be the upper and lower limits for this pay grade?
A. upper limit of $80,000 and lower limit of $40,000
B. upper limit of $63,000 and lower limit of $57,000
C. upper limit of $69,000 and lower limit of $51,000
D. upper limit of $90,000 and lower limit of $30,000
The correct answer is C. Typically, pay grades have upper and lower limits that are 10
to 20 percent above and below the midpoint. Choice C falls into that range, with upper
and lower limits that are 15 percent above and below the midpoint. All of the other
choices are either too narrow or too broad.
Risk is defined as______.
A. probability of X occurrence
B. prevention of X avoidance
C. prevention of X occurrences
D. probability of X consequences
The correct answer is D. The classic definition of Risk is Probability x Consequences.
A company wants to forecast the net impact of a program on its bottom line. It weighs
the expected expenses and advantages against each other. Unlike ROI, which
generally looks only at the hard costs this __________ also looks at the soft costs.
A. replacement cost
B. cost-benefit analysis
C. outlay cost
D. human resource ROI
The correct answer is B. A cost-benefit analysis identifies all the costs associated with a
particular program or action and weighs them against all the benefits that will result, to
forecast the net impact on the company's bottom line. Unlike ROI, which generally looks
only at hard costs, a CBA looks at soft costs, as well.
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