Chapter 1
1. Most human resources issues have little relevance for line managers.
ANS: F
2. Some companies report that offering family-friendly benefits is so successful there are virtually no drawbacks.
ANS: F
3. To achieve sustainable competitive advantage through people, an organization’s employees’ skills, knowledge, and
abilities must be widely available in the labour market.
ANS: F
4. An important hidden cost of layoffs is a loss of institutional memory and trust in management.
ANS: T
5. A recent study suggests that about 55 percent of Canada’s workforce will be impacted by globalization, with
knowledge workers and manufacturing jobs taking the brunt of the impact of the competition by lower-wage countries.
ANS: F
6. Employees with little education and outdated skills are referred to as ground workers.
ANS: T
7. Employees and the public at large are demanding that employers demonstrate greater social responsibility.
ANS: T
8. The introduction of advanced technology tends to increase the number of jobs that require basic skills.
ANS: F
9. Because of the “dot-com bust,” the initial explosive success of Internet business declined drastically and is still in a
moderate decline.
ANS: F
10. In general, many companies are realizing diminished demand for “touch labour” and an increasing demand for
“knowledge workers.”
ANS: T
11. A Human Resource Information System (HRIS) provides current and accurate data for control and decision-making by
managers.
ANS: T
12. Because of its importance, HR managers in progressive organizations are frequently assuming sole responsibility for
the implementation of information technology.
ANS: F
13. To successfully manage change, organizations, particularly in fast-growing industries, should wait to see how external
forces impact performance, and then develop a plan to react to those changes.
ANS: F
14. In a recent survey, only about two-thirds of companies reported having a formal change management program
to support their change initiatives.
ANS: T
15. One of the main reasons change efforts fail is that organizations do not create a sense of urgency.
ANS: T
,16. Reallocation of resources and assets is most often the reason for failed change management.
ANS: F
17. The knowledge, skills, and capabilities that impact a company’s performance but do not necessarily show up on its
balance sheet are known as human capital.
ANS: T
18. Organizations own their human capital, including investments made in training and development.
ANS: F
19. HR programs and assignments are often the primary method by which knowledge is transferred among employees.
ANS: T
20. HR professionals do not need to fully understand the economic and financial matters pertaining to their organization.
ANS: F
21. Teamwork is often a valuable way of facilitating knowledge exchange and mutual learning.
ANS: T
22. The extent to which organizations are successful in focusing on internal management issues often separates
the winners from the losers in today’s competitive world.
ANS: F
23. To be successful, organizations should seek to align their processes with customer needs.
ANS: T
24. “Six Sigma” refers to the six criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
ANS: F
25. Total quality management is a set of principles and practices whose core ideas include doing things right the first time
and striving for continuous improvement.
ANS: T
26. Organizations known for product and service quality recognize the importance of employees in fostering quality
improvements.
ANS: T
27. Employee motivation, teamwork, corporate culture, employee education, performance management, and rewards are
the six aspects in the quality improvement program known as “Six Sigma.”
ANS: F
28. Reengineering is a statistical method of translating customer needs into separate tasks and defining the best way
to perform each task.
ANS: F
29. To launch a successful reengineering effort, it is important that managers build on existing processes.
ANS: F
30. Labour costs are one of the largest expenditures of any organization.
ANS: T
31. Methods of reducing labour costs include downsizing, outsourcing, and employee leasing.
ANS: T
32. According to the diagram in the text, courage is an important aspect of being an HR professional.
ANS: T
, 33. Rather than simply laying off people in downsizing efforts, companies such as L. L. Bean rely upon voluntary
separation programs to provide an incentive for employees to leave on their own accord.
ANS: T
34. Almost all Canadian employers have engaged in some type of downsizing.
ANS: F
35. Outsourcing is positively related to improving key competencies of the firm.
ANS: T
36. Employee leasing refers to employing workers in their homes rather than within the traditional office environment.
ANS: F
37. An increased reliance on outsourcing is likely to increase the morale and productivity of the employees that remain on
the job.
ANS: F
38. Employee leasing shifts administrative costs from the company to a professional employer organization.
ANS: T
39. Employee productivity is the result of a combination of employees’ abilities, motivation, and work environment, and
the technology they have to work with.
ANS: T
40. It is quite possible that when managers increase costs productivity often rises.
ANS: F
41. Managers in general and HR managers in particular should be concerned with the makeup and expectations of their
employees.
ANS: T
42. Older workers now are choosing to work longer.
ANS: T
43. Currently, the percentage of women in the labour force is 35 percent.
ANS: F
44. Due to increases in education, the gap between the educated and the non-educated is decreasing.
ANS: F
45. Women are heavily concentrated in managerial occupations.
ANS: F
46. Managing diversity means ensuring all employees are treated equally.
ANS: F
47. The number of Canadians who are self-employed is currently increasing.
ANS: T
48. Employees today are less likely to define success only in terms of financial gain.
ANS: T
49. Family-friendly companies may risk alienating those employees who cannot utilize benefits provided.
1. Most human resources issues have little relevance for line managers.
ANS: F
2. Some companies report that offering family-friendly benefits is so successful there are virtually no drawbacks.
ANS: F
3. To achieve sustainable competitive advantage through people, an organization’s employees’ skills, knowledge, and
abilities must be widely available in the labour market.
ANS: F
4. An important hidden cost of layoffs is a loss of institutional memory and trust in management.
ANS: T
5. A recent study suggests that about 55 percent of Canada’s workforce will be impacted by globalization, with
knowledge workers and manufacturing jobs taking the brunt of the impact of the competition by lower-wage countries.
ANS: F
6. Employees with little education and outdated skills are referred to as ground workers.
ANS: T
7. Employees and the public at large are demanding that employers demonstrate greater social responsibility.
ANS: T
8. The introduction of advanced technology tends to increase the number of jobs that require basic skills.
ANS: F
9. Because of the “dot-com bust,” the initial explosive success of Internet business declined drastically and is still in a
moderate decline.
ANS: F
10. In general, many companies are realizing diminished demand for “touch labour” and an increasing demand for
“knowledge workers.”
ANS: T
11. A Human Resource Information System (HRIS) provides current and accurate data for control and decision-making by
managers.
ANS: T
12. Because of its importance, HR managers in progressive organizations are frequently assuming sole responsibility for
the implementation of information technology.
ANS: F
13. To successfully manage change, organizations, particularly in fast-growing industries, should wait to see how external
forces impact performance, and then develop a plan to react to those changes.
ANS: F
14. In a recent survey, only about two-thirds of companies reported having a formal change management program
to support their change initiatives.
ANS: T
15. One of the main reasons change efforts fail is that organizations do not create a sense of urgency.
ANS: T
,16. Reallocation of resources and assets is most often the reason for failed change management.
ANS: F
17. The knowledge, skills, and capabilities that impact a company’s performance but do not necessarily show up on its
balance sheet are known as human capital.
ANS: T
18. Organizations own their human capital, including investments made in training and development.
ANS: F
19. HR programs and assignments are often the primary method by which knowledge is transferred among employees.
ANS: T
20. HR professionals do not need to fully understand the economic and financial matters pertaining to their organization.
ANS: F
21. Teamwork is often a valuable way of facilitating knowledge exchange and mutual learning.
ANS: T
22. The extent to which organizations are successful in focusing on internal management issues often separates
the winners from the losers in today’s competitive world.
ANS: F
23. To be successful, organizations should seek to align their processes with customer needs.
ANS: T
24. “Six Sigma” refers to the six criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
ANS: F
25. Total quality management is a set of principles and practices whose core ideas include doing things right the first time
and striving for continuous improvement.
ANS: T
26. Organizations known for product and service quality recognize the importance of employees in fostering quality
improvements.
ANS: T
27. Employee motivation, teamwork, corporate culture, employee education, performance management, and rewards are
the six aspects in the quality improvement program known as “Six Sigma.”
ANS: F
28. Reengineering is a statistical method of translating customer needs into separate tasks and defining the best way
to perform each task.
ANS: F
29. To launch a successful reengineering effort, it is important that managers build on existing processes.
ANS: F
30. Labour costs are one of the largest expenditures of any organization.
ANS: T
31. Methods of reducing labour costs include downsizing, outsourcing, and employee leasing.
ANS: T
32. According to the diagram in the text, courage is an important aspect of being an HR professional.
ANS: T
, 33. Rather than simply laying off people in downsizing efforts, companies such as L. L. Bean rely upon voluntary
separation programs to provide an incentive for employees to leave on their own accord.
ANS: T
34. Almost all Canadian employers have engaged in some type of downsizing.
ANS: F
35. Outsourcing is positively related to improving key competencies of the firm.
ANS: T
36. Employee leasing refers to employing workers in their homes rather than within the traditional office environment.
ANS: F
37. An increased reliance on outsourcing is likely to increase the morale and productivity of the employees that remain on
the job.
ANS: F
38. Employee leasing shifts administrative costs from the company to a professional employer organization.
ANS: T
39. Employee productivity is the result of a combination of employees’ abilities, motivation, and work environment, and
the technology they have to work with.
ANS: T
40. It is quite possible that when managers increase costs productivity often rises.
ANS: F
41. Managers in general and HR managers in particular should be concerned with the makeup and expectations of their
employees.
ANS: T
42. Older workers now are choosing to work longer.
ANS: T
43. Currently, the percentage of women in the labour force is 35 percent.
ANS: F
44. Due to increases in education, the gap between the educated and the non-educated is decreasing.
ANS: F
45. Women are heavily concentrated in managerial occupations.
ANS: F
46. Managing diversity means ensuring all employees are treated equally.
ANS: F
47. The number of Canadians who are self-employed is currently increasing.
ANS: T
48. Employees today are less likely to define success only in terms of financial gain.
ANS: T
49. Family-friendly companies may risk alienating those employees who cannot utilize benefits provided.
